Extraordinary flight of a bird that flew restlessly for 11 days from Alaska to New Zealand | Expert Area | Climate and environment

In September 2020, a new record was set for the longest uninterrupted journey made by an organism on Earth. Vader bird model, Black tail needleLimosa Laponica pauri) Traveled 11,200 kilometers from Alaska to New Zealand and flew 11 days non-stop! The population pattern of breeding species in Alaska does not stand still, nor does it eat or rest. Spend the winter in New Zealand, at speeds of 40 to 100 kilometers per hour, from north to south over the Pacific Ocean.

In 2009, a female of the same species tagged with a satellite transmitter was already observed on an 11,680-kilometer flight for eight days non-stop, between her breeding and wintering areas in the Yukon Delta. The record that took 11 years to break: a man coded in Alaska has crossed it in 520 kilometers. For these planes to be successful, they need extraordinary physical and orientation skills. This species has wingspan of about 80 cm and a weight of 190-250 g, which reaches 400-640 g when loaded with fat at the beginning of migration. Currently, the specific physiology of these migrants is being explored: birds with the metabolism of long-distance running … in the body of Usain Bolt.

The same species, the black-tailed marlin, is found in Europe, and along with other types of vaders, they also make unusual voyages. Birds from Central Europe or the Siberian tundra cross the Iberian Peninsula and reach wintering regions in tropical Africa (Senegal, Mauritania, Mali) at altitudes of more than 3,000 m, lasting 3-4 days. In addition, in our geography, there are millions of migratory birds, the smallest of which (weighing 6-30 g), crossing the Sahara Desert every year on marathon trips of 2-4 days (over 2,000 km of rock and sand), as evidenced by the small birds with geolocation devices.

Bird migration is one of the most fascinating natural phenomena in nature. Migration, which has evolved as a strategy for the seasonal survival of resources, requires a good adjustment between the movement of the migratory bird and the production cycles of nature, so that over thousands of years, the best adaptations have been selected in a timely manner. In the right place. As a result, aerodynamic and lightweight but resistant body structures were selected, making chiropractic suitable for long-term endeavors with low energy expenditure or exceptional orientation capabilities.

Until recently, most of these voyages were not well known and fostered all sorts of myths and legends: swallows burying themselves in the mud in winter, red holes that turned into robins in the spring, or hawks that turned into crows. The origin and disappearance of organisms from an area is difficult to understand as a complex mystery. It was marked by bird rings until about a century ago, which allowed for the first time to connect the appearance and location of these travelers. It wasn’t until recently, Modern satellite and GPS technologies And the miniaturization of the components of these devices has allowed for better access to the intuition and expression of these journeys. The results are amazing, and the trips … are extraordinary.

The longest voyages an organism makes on Earth (there is evidence) associated with the Arctic Tern (Sterna heaven) This seabird weighs about 100 gramsCapable of traveling over 80,000 km throughout the year, On tours between breeding grounds in the Arctic and wintering sites in Antarctica, the Atlantic Ocean passes twice a year from north to south. Turns tagged by geologists in the Netherlands have reached the coast of Australia and returned to their breeding colony in Holland the following spring. Considering that Arctic terns are very long-lived birds and can live for more than 20 years, it is estimated that many individuals will be able to travel more than a million kilometers throughout their lives. An unimaginable stretch you have to cross 384,400 kilometers to go from Earth to the Moon.

Alejandro Onropia Fundación is the biologist and science coordinator of Migres

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