Hobbies And Interests
Arctic Tern
If you flew from the Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. to the Sacramento Metropolitan airport in California 18 times a year, you still would not have traveled as far as the arctic tern during its spring and fall migrations. This small bird, which weighs less than 5 ounces -- about the mass of an apple -- holds the record for the longest migration of any animal on Earth. It begins its year near the arctic circle in Greenland, where it mates, lays its clutch of one to three eggs, and raises its fledglings. Then, as summer wanes, it begins its journey southward towards Antarctica, where it will spend the winter. This autumn migration route roughly follows the African coast, but the northern route in the spring zig-zags from east Africa to northern South America, presumably to avoid counter winds. In one year, this bird travels almost 44,000 miles, and in its 30-year lifespan it can travel up to 1.5 million miles -- a distance approximately equal to 60 trips around the earth.
Sooty Shearwater
For many years, the sooty shearwater held the title as the migrant with the longest journey. This seabird breeds in New Zealand and Chile, and travels to Japan, Siberia and the North American Pacific coast for the winter -- which is the Northern Hemisphere's summer -- for a round trip that covers almost 40,000 miles. These birds take advantage of the prevailing wind patterns to migrate northward at various times and using various routes. Nearly all the birds return to their southern homes during one two-week period, though, using a funnel-like route in which the North American and Asian birds converge to cross the equator en masse.
Bar-Tailed Godwit
Compared to the arctic tern and the sooty shearwater, the bar-tailed godwit has only a short jaunt from its summer to its winter home -- a mere 7,000 miles -- but this bird holds the record for having the longest non-stop flight migration. Unlike many other long-distance migrants, it may not stop to eat, drink or sleep for nine days. During this time, it rests by shutting down half of its brain at a time and lives off of its body fat, often losing up to half its weight in a little over a week. It flies at speeds over 30 miles per hour nonstop from Alaska to New Zealand.
Long-Distance Flight Strategies
A bird in its normal physical state cannot survive such an intense migration as these long-distance wonders endure. In order to prepare for their flights, these marathon migrants enter a period of hyperphagia, or greatly increased appetite, during which time they accumulate a thick layer of fat to fuel their bodies during the trip. In addition, their pectoral muscles grow larger and the quantity of fat-burning enzymes increase so that the bird is able to quickly convert its stores into energy. These physical transformations allow the birds to complete journeys that continue to amaze scientists and laymen.