26 August 2025
Each migrating chook has a narrative to inform about its journey. Listed below are six species whose tales are superb.
Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) sky-blue route on map.
Northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) breed in northern Eurasia, northeastern Canada, and Alaska, but regardless of the place they breed they go house to Africa for the winter. Analysis utilizing gentle stage geolocators has discovered that they make longer journeys than they should as a result of they’re so dedicated to their African house. Those who breed in Alaska journey 9,000 miles. Discover out extra at Taking The Lengthy Approach Residence.
Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) red-orange routes on map.
Arctic terns make the longest migration of any animal on Earth. They breed in arctic North America and make in a round-trip migration of 44,000 miles (71,000 km) to and from Antarctica. Since they will dwell 30 years, a person tern can rack up a lifetime achievement of 1.5 million miles. Watch a video of the particular routes of two terns that migrated from Greenland to Antarctica and again at Longest Migration.
Amur falcon (Falco amurensis) inexperienced route on map.
Amur falcons (Falco amurensis) breed in Siberia and northern China and journey 13,670 miles (22,000 km) every fall to southern Africa. Not solely is their migration the longest of all of the raptors however at their autumn stopover in Nagaland, India the flock can attain half 1,000,000 birds. See a map + video at Most Spectacular Raptor Migration within the World
Quick-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris) royal blue routes on map.
Quick-tailed shearwaters are one of many few species that makes a “backwards” migration from the southern hemisphere to the north. After breeding on small islands close to Australia in December by way of February (austral summer season) they depart in March and April for the Aleutian Islands (Alaska) and Kamchatka (Russia). On the finish of our summer season, they depart in August to go down the coast of California earlier than crossing the Pacific to Australia. All instructed they journey as much as 9,900 miles (16,000 km) per yr.
Ruff (Calidris pugnax) yellow route on map.
The ruff is a medium-sized shorebird that breeds in marshes and moist meadows throughout northern Eurasia. Through the breeding season the males show at a lek to indicate off their ruff-like head and neck feathers for the uninteresting wanting females referred to as “reeves.” On migration they fly west throughout Eurasia to the Atlantic coast of Europe earlier than turning south and forming big flocks at their ultimate winter locations in Africa. Those who journey the furthest cowl 9,300 miles (15,000 km) a method.
Swainson’s hawk (Buteo swainsoni) purple route on map.
Swainson’s hawks breed in western North America, then journey greater than 6,200 miles (10,000 km) to spend the winter on the pampas (grasslands) in Argentina. Their migratory route converges at Veracruz, Mexico the place as much as 845,000 Swainson’s hawks have been counted in a single autumn. Along with their lengthy migration, Swainson’s hawks have the weird trait of utterly altering their food plan from rodents and small mammals throughout the breeding season to consuming solely bugs on the wintering grounds.
