The bar-tailed godwit is making news this week for the longest, non-stop migration ever measured. We're talking 9 days, more than 7,000 miles, without taking a break for food or water. They gorge on worms and clams in Alaska and then take off for a huge flight to the coast of New Zealand, losing half of their body weight during the migration. They get sleep, of a sort, by shutting off one half of their brain during flight.
Below is one very short TV story. If you want to be a star BOTW student, though, you should listen to this NPR interview with the biologist who led the study.
Birds are awesome!
October 24, 2008
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2 comments:
Um, yeah, I'll take first class. I think I'll be able to shut off half my brain there too! Oh hell, I could shut off my whole brain!
I love the name! Bar-tailed godwit. That demands respect. Oh, and flying non-stop 7,000 miles. That demands respect too, I suppose.
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