Wednesday, April 23, 2003

Totally fucking serious. Bird Migration Facts
Distances vary depending on species:
Perching birds ( passerines) 20-35 mph
Warblers travel .......................... 20-25 miles per day
Geese and ducks ................. 40-60 mph
Ducks travel up to ....................... 500 miles per day
Shorebirds 30-50 mph and 90-110 mph
swifts travel over .......................... 100 miles per day
Falcons ................................ 40-50 mph
Geese travel up to ........................ 2,000 miles per day
Flycatchers ......................... 10-20 mph
Shorebirds will go non-stop ..................... 3000 miles

More Migration Facts
Birds navagate through a combination of:
-Sighting (they don't call it a "bird's eye view" for nothing) features like rivers, coastlines, and mountain ranges.
-Monitoring Earth's magnetic field, apparently with their visual system and with tiny grains of a mineral called magnetite in their heads
-Observing the stars
-Using the sun for guidance
-Smell
-And probably following their neighbors (many birds migrate in large flocks)

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