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Bar-Tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) Happy World Bird Migration Day

Bar-tailed Godwiths hold the world record for the longest land migration non-stop flight over 11,000km.

Bar-tailed Godwits alter themselves physically before migration.

Gain body fat (accounts for 55% of their weight)

To do this they shrink their liver, kidney and gut

Only the organs essential for long-distance flight are maintained.

They use a mental-maps for navigation which almost certainly includes star-charts and beak-compasses.

 

The birds follow patterns of movement engrained into a culture that evolved with the ecosystem they inhabit today,

Amazing Nature.

 

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Uploaded on May 10, 2024