Tail needle (Limosa lapponica) It is a bird that rarely exceeds half a kilo in weight. Nevertheless, it is counted among the most feared migratory birds of the animal kingdom, can travel tens of thousands of kilometers between their summer and winter nests.
In 2006, scientists began to take a serious interest in the migrations of woodpeckers, when a team of researchers from the United States Geological Survey came up with the idea of attaching small GPS transmitters to the legs of these birds to track their journey across the ocean. The researchers were particularly interested in following their migration, because until then it was known that black-tailed bivalves move unusually quickly between continents. What they found is that it is birds they completed the flight south in one leg, without stopping to eat, drink or sleep, and flies continuously for more than a week, at an average speed of 56 km/h. Currently, colipintas are the birds that travel the longest distance without stopping.
Since then, different teams of biologists have followed the movement of the spikes and discovered new distance records every year. Scientists from Pūkorokoro Miranda Naturalists’ Trust they just recorded what to this day is the blink of an eyerathe most spectacular thorium of its kind. A specimen of the woodpecker left its summer homes in Alaska and crossed the Pacific Ocean from north to south. all the way to Tasmania on a non-stop journey of 13,560 kilometers (8,435 miles) that took 11 days. The brand more than surpassed last year’s record, set for another limit of 13,050 kilometers. This is not about individual heroism. Bar-tails often fly in groups and take turns leading the flock to their destination, so it is very likely that the bird recorded was flying with others who simply did not have a GPS.
Sam Dooley from Birdlife Australia explained IFL science that the bird’s path led across the island of Vanuatu. Researchers aren’t sure if something ended up there, but they think it’s unlikely because the island’s shores don’t have the necessary ecosystem for birds to feed on. Colipintes live on small worms and molluscs that they pull from shallow waters with their long, curved beaks.
G/O Media may receive a commission
Scientists still don’t know for sure how these birds stay on course for so long without reference. To that is added ithe mystery of why this bird decided to fly longer and further to reach Tasmania. The GPS track also shows that he didn’t stray at the last minute. His path was direct to this island of the Australian continent. Researchers believe that woodpeckers are somehow able to predict weather conditions to avoid storms and bad weather. “They definitely respond to atmospheric conditions,” explains Dooley. [Bird Guides vía IFL Science]