Hi Tweets,

Regarding water-to-sucrose ratios in hummerfeeders, Peggi Rodgers wrote:

>It's always the same 4 to 1. It really shouldn't be any stronger or it will
>damage their kidneys. They'll simply feed more frequently during colder
>weather.

Well, actually, the range of the water-sucrose ratio in nature ranges from
3-to-1 to 5-to-1 depending on the flower species and a couple of other
things; 4-to-1 is simply the mid-range. In winter, you can actually feed up
to 2-to-1 without causing liver damage. There was a post on Tweeters a
couple of years ago that explained the chemistry of hummingbird metabolism
as it related to this question of how much sugar is too much sugar. Does
anyone remember it?

Michael Price The Sleep of Reason Gives Birth to Monsters
Vancouver BC Canada -Goya
mprice at mindlink.net