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BirdNote Daily

The Heart of a Bird

BirdNote Daily

BirdNote

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4.81.3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2024

⏱️ 2 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Life in the fast lane!

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is bird note.

0:05.0

Birds like mammals are warm-blooded.

0:08.0

It's an adaptation known as endothermy,

0:10.0

along with feathers and other key anatomical features,

0:14.0

endothermy is a fundamental trait carried over from their non-avian

0:18.0

dinosaur ancestors.

0:20.0

Active hunters known as theropods, like the fearsome velociraptor or the T-Rex.

0:27.0

Bird's bodies maintain a constant temperature around 106 degrees.

0:32.0

Their four-chambered hearts run larger than those of mammals,

0:35.8

relative to body size, and they're coupled with extremely efficient

0:40.0

cardiovascular systems.

0:42.2

Birds are built for a high energy lifestyle.

0:44.0

Their hearts pump more oxygen-rich blood per minute

0:47.0

than those of mammals.

0:49.0

The energy demands of flight require it.

0:52.0

And smaller animals lose body heat more rapidly,

0:55.0

burning the oxygen in their blood faster than larger animals.

0:59.0

An active hummingbird's heart pumps at 1,200 beats per minute.

1:04.1

A flying pigeon's heart beats at 600.

1:08.2

But a human athlete during exercise

1:10.4

builds up a heart rate to around only 150 beats, a mere fraction of the hummingbird's heart rate.

1:17.0

Exercise as heart as you like. Your heart will stay in the slow lane compared to that of a bird.

...

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