The Avian Book of Flight Records-I
If you have been smiling yourself silly while bragging about your SUV’s mileage, or how it seems to run forever on a single charge, then allow me to burst the bubble for you. Better still, let the bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica) do it. This bird flies non-stop for 11 days over a distance of 13,560 kms (8,425 miles), from Alaska, USA to Tasmania, Australia [1]! Amazingly, the bird tracked in the study was a 5-month-old juvenile, who was making this trip with his friends. The adults typically take off nearly 6 weeks before the kids, who spend that time fattening up before embarking on their journey.
Fig 1: Bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica), the bird that flies non-stop for 11 days over a distance of 13,560 kms (8,425 miles), from Alaska, USA to Tasmania, Australia! (Photo credit:iStock)
While astounding, the feat of the bar-tailed godwit would elicit a disapproving ‘Bah’ from the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea). A true-blue marathoner, this summer crazy bird migrates from its Arctic homeland to the Southern Ocean (Antarctic Ocean), a distance of nearly 35,000 kms (21,500 miles) (Tell me once again—what is your car’s annual mileage?) [2]. Since it lives for nearly 30 years, the total distance covered by the Arctic tern in its lifetime is equivalent to three round trips to the moon! The bar-tailed godwit can still play the ‘I-fly-non-stop’ card, since the Arctic tern has a brief stopover for refueling. However, given that the latter flies nearly 3 times the distance covered by the godwit, the stopover hardly dents the standing of the Arctic tern as the ‘World’s migration champion’ (Cooke, 1915).
Fig 2: Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea). This migration champion flies from its Arctic homeland to the Southern Ocean (Antarctic Ocean), a distance of nearly 35,000 kms (21,500 miles). (Photo credit:iStock)
However, how (un)remarkable is a Pole-to-Pole expedition, when one can circumnavigate the globe in just 46 days? That’s the grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) for you [3]. And while the first 2 birds can claim to belong to the featherweight category (weighting an average of 290 grams and 100 grams, respectively), the albatross is a heavyweight at 3.5 kilograms [4-6]! However, thanks to the engineering marvel that is the albatross body, it can maintain its high-flying lifestyle (pun intended), the body weight notwithstanding. The albatross breeds in areas with the wildest wind and wave conditions on earth [7]. It is designed to soar dynamically and use the wind and wave energy to power its flight (talk about aerodynamic design!) and reduce the total energy expenditure of the journey. That’s the birdie high life, at zero cost!
Fig 3: Grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma). Living the quietessential birdie high life, this remarkable bird breeds in areas with the wildest wind and wave conditions on earth. (Photo credit:iStock)
References:
2. Egevang C et al. (2009). Tracking of Arctic terns Sterna paradisaea reveals longest animal migration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). 107(5):2078-2081. doi:10.1073/pnas.0909493107
3. Croxall JP et al. (2005). Global circumnavigations: Tracking year-round ranges of nonbreeding albatrosses. Science. 307(5707):249-250. doi:10.1126/science.1106042.
4. https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/bar-tailed-godwit
5. https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/arctic-tern
6. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/66491-listing-advice.pdf
7. Suryan RM et al. (2008). Wind, Waves and Wind Loading: Morphological Specialization May Limit Range Expansion of Endangered Albatrosses. PLoSONE. 3(12):e4016. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004016
