http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/sc...=1&ref=science
Really an amazing article. I selected a quote or two from it that'll give you an idea of what these birds do. Incredible! Also amazing is the amount of work that the researchers put in to come up with this data. But read the whole article: very informative and interesting.
Really an amazing article. I selected a quote or two from it that'll give you an idea of what these birds do. Incredible! Also amazing is the amount of work that the researchers put in to come up with this data. But read the whole article: very informative and interesting.
The transmitters sent their location to Mr. Gill?s computer, and he sometimes stayed up until 2 in the morning to see the latest signal appear on the Google Earth program running on his laptop. Just as he had suspected, the bar-tailed godwits headed out over the open ocean and flew south through the Pacific. They did not stop at islands along the way. Instead, they traveled up to 7,100 miles in nine days ? the longest nonstop flight ever recorded. ?I was speechless,? Mr. Gill said.
As more birds prove to be ultramarathoners, biologists are turning their attention to how they manage such spectacular feats of endurance. Consider what might be the ultimate test of human endurance in sports, the Tour de France: Every day, bicyclists pedal up and down mountains for hours. In the process, they raise their metabolism to about five times their resting rate.
The bar-tailed godwit, by contrast, elevates its metabolic rate between 8 and 10 times. And instead of ending each day with a big dinner and a good night?s rest, the birds fly through the night, slowly starving themselves as they travel 40 miles an hour.
The bar-tailed godwit, by contrast, elevates its metabolic rate between 8 and 10 times. And instead of ending each day with a big dinner and a good night?s rest, the birds fly through the night, slowly starving themselves as they travel 40 miles an hour.
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