We measured oxygen consumption and cloacal body temperature of verdins (Auriparus flaviceps) in a wind tunnel metabolism chamber at combinations of air temperature and wind speed ranging from 5 to 35 C and 0.05 to 3.0 m/s, respectively. Metabolic rate correlated positively with wind speed at all air temperatures. The wind speed dependence of metabolism was negatively correlated with chamber air temperature such that wind had a greater influence on metabolic rate at low temperatures. Total thermal resistance of verdins decreased with increasing wind at all air temperatures. Body (tissue plus coat) thermal resistance decreased with wind also, indicating that plumage insulation was disrupted by forced convection. We used a convection-adjusted time budget model to estimate the daily energy requirements of wintering verdins and found that moderate increases in mean daily wind speed caused 20%-30% increases in estimated verdin daily energy expenditure. Our results demonstrate the importance of wind's effects on the energy budgets of small birds.
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Webster et al. (1988) studied this question.