Checking out the birds in the Caribbean

These little fellows I will call the buffet penguins.  Their origins are from an eggplant and avocado.  They live on cruise ships --  ok, ok --just having a little fun.  I just returned from a cruise in the Caribbean where I practiced doing nothing.  It was hard work, but I give myself an A- because the first week I was still talking work when someone would ask me about my profession.  After that, there was some serious deck lounging and paperback reading going on.  When off on an excursion snorkeling, I worked on sunning and learning how to get tipsy on rum punch and margaritas.  I think my travel mates were proud of the good job I did at all these skills and someday invite me back for a repeat performance.

This hummingbird was taken while we toured Diamond Botanical Gardens on the island of St. Lucia.  I believe it is the purple-throated carib.
Hummingbird Metabolism and Survival & Flight Adaption - Interesting Information
With the exception of insects, hummingbirds have the highest  metabolism rate of any animal on earth (high breathing rate, high heart rate, high body temperature).
Because of their "extreme" metabolism, the active hummingbirds require frequent feedings throughout the day - every ten to fifteen minutes and potentially visiting 1,000 flowers a day, lapping up nectar at the rate of 13 licks per second. They have to eat up to half of its body mass and drink roughly eight times its body mass each day. In preparation for an impending migration, hummingbirds may consume 3 up to 10 times their body weight in food - about 14,000 calories per kilogram - per day. (Humans consume, on average, 26 calories per kilogram per day). Before migration, hummingbirds will almost double their weight as they store up fat to serve as fuel and hence increasing their potential flying time.
The hummingbird has the largest heart in proportion to its body- and has the highest heartbeat rate. Their hearts pump about 1,200 times per minute in flight and 200 beats per minute at rest– making it the fastest beating heart of all animals - except for the pygmy shrew with a recorded heartbeat of up to 1511 times per minute. (A shrew is a small animal that resembles a mouse – it occurs in Asia.) Their wings beat seventy times each second; and their hovering flight used by them to gather nectar requires staggering amounts of energy. Their daytime body temperature ranges from 105° to 108°F (40.5° to 42.2°C).