What are facts about migratory animals?

Answer 1

1. Most migratory birds travel in flocks, a common English-language bird word, but the broad-winged hawk migrates in kettles. As these hawks soar on high-altitude thermal currents, their swirling or "boiling" flight behavior is called kettling -- it resembles bubbles boiling in a teakettle!

2. The green-winged teal is the only known species of migrating duck that

scratches while in flight!

3. A migratory bird's brain contains microscopic crystals of magnetite, an iron-based mineral, which enables them to create a mental map of the flight route.

The ancient Chinese used the same mineral magnetite to make the world's first compass!

4. Most migrant birds have longer, more pointed wings than non-migratory birds. This "pointed-edge" design helps to reduce air resistance during prolonged flights.

5. Prior to migration, birds transform themselves into "super birds." The secret is eating, eating and more eating. A bird can accumulate fat reserves up to 50% of body weight in preparation for departure!

6. Migrating birds are often brilliant navigators - for example, Bristle-thighed curlews find their way from Alaska to tiny islands in the Pacific 9,000 km away!

7. The Arctic tern is the greatest migrator, flying 30,000 km from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again each year. It breeds in the short Arctic summer, then flies halfway around the world to spend another summer in Antarctica!

8. Most birds that migrate long distances fly at night.

9. A migrating bird can fly across the Sahara Desert in 50-60 hours without stopping to 'refuel'.

10. Monarch Butterflies migrate 4,000 km every year, from North America to small clumps of trees in Mexico. Remarkably, the migrating butterflies have never made the journey before!