Abstract: Hummingbirds might be limited in their ability to increase nectar consumption because most water consumed is absorbed and processed through their kidneys, which could restrict feeding rate. Such a restriction could limit energy intake during periods of extreme energetic demand. We measured maximum feeding rate in four hummingbird species by sequentially feeding them nectars with decreasing sucrose concentration (10-2%). Feeding rate in broad-billed (3.2g) and magnificent (7.5g) hummingbirds peaked at 4% (0.55 and 0.53 gs g-1h-1, respectively) whereas black-chinned (3.0g) and blue-throated hummingbirds (8.0g) peaked at 6% (0.77 and 0.55 gs g-1h-1, respectively). Maximum water consumption occurred at 4% for broad-bills and magnificents (0.53 and 0.51 mL g-1h-1, respectively), and at 6% for black-chins and blue-throats (0.72 and 0.51 mL g-1h-1, respectively). Maximum energy consumption occurred at 8% for all species (0.50-0.79 kJ g-1h-1). Differences in water and energy consumption were not related to body mass. All species except black-chins maintained mass throughout the experiment, which could indicate higher energy demand, lower assimilation efficiency, or lower intestinal water absorption in this species. Our data suggest all four species have capacity to upregulate compensatory feeding under current conditions. Even so, anticipated temperature increase due to climate change could create conditions where maximum foraging rate becomes limiting. Integrating obtained maximum feeding rate into predictive models could improve our ability to anticipate climate change impact on energy availability and sequential distribution shifts.