3 ms·
They are smaller, have higher body temperature and use a more energy intensive way of moving. They're necessarily consume more food. It's probably reversed if
by Rexxar 9y ago
They are smaller, have higher body temperature and use a more energy intensive way of moving. They're necessarily consume more food.
It's probably reversed if you compare a small bat to ostriches, but it's true in general.
- rmetzler 9y agoBats aren't birds.
- andrewl 9y agoRexxar's point was about mechanisms of locomotion and body size. While we generally expect birds to have a faster metabolism than mammals because they're small and because flying takes so much energy, the reverse would probably be the case when comparing ostriches and bats. The ostrich is a 250-pound non-flying bird, and bats are very light flying mammals. In that case, we expect the mammal to have the higher metabolism. I've also wondered if non-flying birds defecate less often, and flying mammals more often. I always assumed that birds emptied out so frequently because it's important to keep your weight down if you're flying, and much less important if you're walking.