A flight record was set recently—from Alaska to New Zealand in 11 days. If that doesn’t sound like a big deal, consider that the 75 hundred-mile journey was made by a bird weighing about a pound.
Bar-tailed godwits are aerodynamic wonders that make one of the world’s longest round-trip migrations each year. From their breeding grounds in Alaska to New Zealand in late August then back again the following spring, each leg of their incredible journey includes 7 days of nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean.
So how do they do it? In Alaska, the birds feast on clams and worms until their weight and energy stores double. In turn, they shrink some of their resting internal organs to almost nothing. And as a bonus during their flight, tailwinds give them a boost.
Where there’s a will, nature seems to find a way.