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Nature constantly offers vital lessons. For humans, a flight lasting a few hours is enough to start complaining about seats, food, luggage, and flight delays. Yet, for a migratory bird the size of a pigeon, a non-stop journey of several thousand kilometers is routine. To accomplish this, the bird reorganizes its own body. The Hudsonian godwit-scientifically known as • Limosa haemastica• -is a champion of migration. The bird travels between breeding grounds in North America and wintering grounds in the south of the continent, crossing oceans and landmasses. Some legs of the journey exceed 7,000 miles-over 11,000 kilometers-without a stop. An article published by • The New Yorker• tracks this species' migration and the research of biologists trying to understand how such a small bird manages to endure such a feat.
• Its body is its luggage
Before setting off, the bird must prepare its body for a journey with no refueling stops, hotels, or coffee breaks. The strategy is surprising: certain organs temporarily shrink, allowing the bird to reduce the weight it has to carry. At the same time, the body prepares to build up the energy reserves needed for the flight. Essentially, before a very long journey, the Hudsonian godwit doesn't just pack lighter luggage; it makes its body more efficient. We might take a pair of shoes out of our suitcase to avoid exceeding an airline's weight limit. This bird has a somewhat more radical solution.
• Over 11,000 kilometers non-stop
The feat achieved by this species is all the more spectacular given that some individuals can travel more than 7,000 miles without landing. That amounts to over 11,000 kilometers of continuous flight. For this bird, it represents just a single leg of its migration.
Researchers have tracked individual birds using monitoring devices to determine their routes, the duration of their journeys, and how they manage their energy. The Hudsonian godwit must navigate vast distances, withstand fluctuations in temperature and weather conditions, and burn through its energy reserves with a level of precision that would make any fleet manager envious-all this with a brain and body weighing just a few hundred grams. Researchers track specific individuals like A34, a female monitored as part of studies on the species' migration. The data collected provides insights into travel routes and the physiological changes the bird undergoes during migration.
The habitats upon which migratory birds depend are under pressure from land loss, ecosystem alterations, and climate change. For a species that traverses thousands of kilometers, the loss of a feeding or resting ground can pose a far greater problem than it appears to be on a map. Yet, at the end of the journey, it still needs a place to set down. Unlike the bird, humans do not seem to have found a way to curb their appetite for occupying ever-increasing amounts of space. O.D.
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