9 birds that set records for their amazing flights

Report by Mother Nature Resource



Longest non-stop flight: Bar-tailed godwit

Longest non-stop flight: Bar-tailed godwit

Great snipes get to their migration destination in record time, and Arctic terns have the longest migration but with pit-stops. What bird has made the longest non-stop migration flight? That record goes to the bar-tailed godwit. One bird satellite tagged by researchers flew a staggering 7,145 miles from Alaska to New Zealand in nine days, never stopping for food, water or rest. That’s partly because it couldn’t; the journey was straight over the Pacific Ocean without possibility of any of these things for this kind of bird. Some bar-tailed godwits make a stop on the East Asian coast, however as habitat there dwindles due to human encroachment, there’s been a dramatic drop in the number of these extraordinary birds making it to New Zealand each year.

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/9-birds-that-set-records-for-their-amazing-flights/longest-non-stop#ixzz353o4fsUw

Comments are closed.