Picture flying nonstop for 11 days and one hour, from Alaska to Australia. A five-month-old Bar-tailed Godwit has flown 13,560 kilometers to set a new record.
The Bar-tailed Godwit embarked on its historic journey on 13th October and was tagged with a satellite tag weighing just 5 grams. The journey was documented as part of a tracking study involving organizations including the Max Planck Institute, Massey University in New Zealand, China’s Fudan University, and the Global Flyway Network.
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According to Guinness World Records, a male bar-tailed godwit that was satellite-tagged and flew from Alaska to New Zealand held the previous record and completed a migration of 12,200 kilometers (7,580 miles) without pausing for food or rest.
The migratory bird, which was tracked by the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, flew past the Pacific island nation of Kiribati on October 19 after departing from Hawaii and continuing over open water.
On 25th October, the Bar-tailed Godwit arrived in Tasmania, Australia. The migratory bird is said to have adapted survival mechanisms such as shrinking internal organs to make more space for fat stores.
Warning about Bird Migration Patterns
Birdlife Tasmania convenor Eric Woehler has however cautioned that vital habitat for many migratory birds should be protected. He said,
“There was a report from Birdlife International a month ago that said half the world’s bird species are decreasing.”
“Our birds are giving us a very strong signal about the state of the planet. So we need to understand how they feed, how they move, and what their life cycles are in order to protect them.”
“If birds are unable to build the energy reserve for their return flights to the northern hemisphere, they won’t survive.”
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