Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds.

Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat, or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular (nomadism, invasions, irruptions) or in only one direction (dispersal, movement of young away from natal area). Migration is marked by its annual seasonality. [1] In contrast, birds that are non-migratory are said to be resident or sedentary. Approximately 1800 of the world's 10,000 bird species are long-distance migrants

General patterns
Many bird populations migrate long distances along a flyway. The most common pattern involves flying north in the spring to breed in the temperate or Arctic summer and returning in the autumn to wintering grounds in warmer regions to the south. Of course, in the Southern Hemisphere the directions are reversed, but there is less land area in the far South to support long-distance migration. The primary motivation for migration appears to be food; for example, some hummingbirds choose not to migrate if fed through the winter. Also, the longer days of the northern summer provide extended time for breeding birds to feed their young. This helpsdiurnal birds to produce larger clutches than related non-migratory species that remain in the tropics. As the days shorten in autumn, the birds return to warmer regions where the available food supply varies little with the season. These advantages offset the high stress, physical exertion costs, and other risks of the migration such as predation. Predation can be heightened during migration: the Eleonora's Falcon, which breeds on Mediterranean islands, has a very late breeding season, coordinated with the autumn passage of southbound passerine migrants, which it feeds to its young. A similar strategy is adopted by the Greater Noctule bat, which preys on nocturnal passerine migrants.[2][3][4] The higher concentrations of migrating birds at stopover sites make them prone to parasites and pathogens, which require a heightened immune response. [5] Within a species not all populations may be migratory; this is known as "partial migration". Partial migration is very common in the southern continents; in Australia, 44% of non-passerine birds and 32% of passerine species are partially migratory. [6] In some species, the population at higher latitudes tends to be migratory and will often winter at lower latitude. The migrating birds bypass the latitudes where other populations may be sedentary, where suitable wintering habitats may already be occupied. This is an example of leap-frog migration.[7] Many fully migratory species show leap-frog migration (birds that nest at higher latitudes spend the winter at lower latitudes), and many show the alternative, "chain migration" where populations 'slide' more evenly North and South without reversing order. Within a population, it is common for different ages and/or sexes to have different patterns of timing and distance. Only the female Common Chaffinches in Scandinavia migrate, with the males staying resident. This has given rise to the latter's specific name of coelebs, a bachelor. Most migrations begin with the birds starting off in a broad front. Often, this front narrows into one or more preferred routes termed flyways. These routes typically follow mountain ranges or coastlines, sometimes rivers, and may take advantage of updrafts and other wind patterns or avoid geographical barriers such as large stretches of open water. The specific routes may be genetically programmed or learned to varying degrees. The routes taken on forward and return migration are often different.[5] A common pattern in North America is clockwise migration, where birds flying North tend to be further West, and flying South tend to shift Eastwards. Many, if not most, birds migrate in flocks. For larger birds, flying in flocks reduces the energy cost. Geese in a V-formation may conserve 1220% of the energy they would need to fly alone.[8][9] Red Knots Calidris canutus and Dunlins Calidris alpina were found in radar studies to fly 5 km per hour faster in flocks than when they were flying alone.[5] Birds fly at varying altitudes during migration. An expedition to Mt. Everest found skeletons of Pintail and Black-tailed Godwit at 5000 m (16,400 ft) on the Khumbu Glacier.[10]Bar-headed Geese have been recorded by GPS flying at up to 6,540 metres while crossing the Himalayas, at the same time engaging in the highest rates of climb to altitude for any bird. Anecdotal reports of them flying much higher have yet to be corroborated with any direct evidence.
[11]

Seabirds fly low over water but gain

altitude when crossing land, and the reverse pattern is seen in landbirds. [12][13] However most bird migration is in the range of 150 m (500 ft) to 600 m (2000 ft). Bird-hit aviation records from the United States show most collisions occur below 600 m (2000 ft) and almost none above 1800 m (6000 ft).[14] Bird migration is not limited to birds that can fly. Most species of penguin migrate by swimming. These routes can cover over 1000 km. Blue Grouse Dendragapus obscurusperform altitudinal migration mostly by walking. Emus in Australia have been observed to undertake long-distance movements on foot during droughts. [5]

Reasons for Migration

Birds that migrate are those that spend parts of the year in different areas according to what food is available and seasonal weather change. Some species only migrate a short distance in response to abrupt weather changes, but some migrate thousands of miles.

Routes
Most migratory bird species travel along a "flyway." In the Northern Hemisphere, this is generally south for the winter season and north in spring to breed and raise young.

Formations
Many larger bird species such as geese fly along their migration routes in flocks to help reduce individual stress and save energy by flying in formations that decrease wind resistance, such as the V-formation.

Regions
According to the Forest Service, more than 300 of the 850 bird species in North America spend the summer in the United States, and winter in Mexico and South America.

Irruptive Migrants
Some birds such as the red-breasted nuthatch are considered irruptive migrants, meaning the number that migrate and the winter range varies greatly each year. In this case, the Eastern year-round range is expanding southward.

Siberian Crane The Siberian Crane, scientifically called 'Grus leucogeranus', is one of the migratory birds coming from Russia in Yakutia and western Siberia. Blessed with unbelievable skills of flying, this beautiful world has now become one of the critically endangered bird species. White in feather and a brick-red in color, the Siberian Crane hypnotizes the onlookers by her innocent creations. It winters here in the central and northern part of India.

Scientific Classification Kingdom : Animalia Class : Aves Family : Gruidae Species : G. Leucogeranus Phylum : Chordata Order : Gruiformes Genus : Grus Latin Name : Grus leucogeranus Local Name : Siberian Saras (Hindi) Physical Traits The Siberian Crane is a large white birds with some colourful marks on the cursive neck. The large males among them some time crossed to 140 cm (55 inches) in length and weigh over 10 kg (22 lbs). The adult cranes have full white feather, a dark red mask which covers more than half of the head including eye. Its legs are yellow iris and reddish. They make a flute like voice which hears like flowing music to its watchers,

Habitat & Diet You will surprise to know feeding is the most interesting activities and main motive of their migrating from one extreme to another. The most favorite diet of crane is the roots and the starchy swellings found on the roots of certain plants called tubers. They also eat seeds, small mammals and reptiles, eggs of other birds, and invertebrates, such as worms, clams, insects, and crayfish. Originally, crane breed in Russia in Yakutia and western Siberia and they are considered a long distance migrant. The eastern population migrates in winter to the Yangtze River in China, the central population to Northern and Central India and the western population in Fereidoonkenar and Esfahan in Iran.

Watching the Siberian Crane There are some beautiful bird sanctuaries in India known world wide to see Siberian crane. Of course, the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is on the top of the watching sites. There are some more sanctuaries where you enjoy the views of this highly endangered bird of the world.

Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary Jim Corbett National Park

The Greater Flamingo with the scientific name of Phoenicopterus roseus is one of the most widespread species of the flamingo family in India. The biological name of this Greater Flamingo is Phoenicopterus roseus. It is the largest one among the flamingo species. It shares its genus with the Caribbean Flamingo and Chilean Flamingo. The quick classification of the Greater Flamingo is as below, Kingdom: Animalia Class: Aves Family: Phoenicopteridae Species: Phoenicopterus roseus Physical Characteristics: The Greater Flamingo is the largest flamingo with the average height of 110 to 150 cm (43 to 60 in). The average weight of this greater flamingo is 2 to 4 kg (4.4 to 8.8 lbs). The wing span of this greater flamingo is 55 to 65 inches. The Greater Flamingo can grow upto 5 feet. The adult greater flamingo's legs are larger when compared to its body. Their eyes are larger than its brain. The plumage of this species is pinkish white in colour. The wings are red in colour. The primary and secondary flight feathers are black in colour. The life span of these greater flamingos is 75 years. The legs are pink colour. The bill of this flamingo is pink in colour and also has a black tip in the bill. It makes a call like honking. They sit by extending their legs towards the backside. Behaviour: The Greater Flamingos are one of the gregarious birds in India. The greater flamingos are basically social birds. They live in a group containing few individuals to tens of thousands members in the group. The pairs are monogamous in nature. The Great flamingos are very noisy birds. The Greater Flamingos are able to travel 600 kms (373 miles) in one night with the travelling speed of 50 to 60 kph (31 to 37 mph). The greater flamingos are one of the defenseless birds. They always fly away to protect themselves from their enemy. The greater flamingos have the ability to fly and swim. The greater flamingos are used to standing on one leg. Habitat: The Greater Flamingos are commonly found in the large alkaline, estuarine lagoons or saline lakes. These birds reside in the shallow coastal lagoons or mud flats. The habitats used by the great flamingos are mangrove swamps, sandy islands or tidal flats. Migration: Flamingos are generally non-migratory birds. However, due to changes in the climate and water levels in their breeding areas, flamingo colonies are not always permanent. Populations that breed in high-altitude lakes, which may freeze over in the winter, move to warmer areas. When water levels rise, birds may search for more favorable sites. Drought conditions may force some flamingo populations to relocate. The movements of the greater flamingo population living in Carmarque in southern France have been closely monitored since 1977. Most flamingos that leave the colony go either southwest to winter in Spain, or southeast to winter in Tunisia and Turkey. The percentage of birds that travel east or west seems to depend on the direction of the prevailing winds in the birds' first autumn

Food Habit : The major food for the greater flamingos are red algae, blue-green algae, diatoms, crustaceans, larval and adult forms of small insects, mollusks, and small fishes In the flamingos diet, the alpha and beta caratenoid pigments take an important part. It is the only reason for the flamingos pink or red colour feathers and legs. They may feed on insects, and aquatic invertebrates as well.

Description: Gadwalls are medium-sized ducks characterized by a general lack of bright coloration. Male gadwalls are gray-brown with a white belly and a black rump. In flight, a white speculum and chestnut and black portions on the wing coverts are displayed. The bill is slate-gray and the legs and feet are yellow. The male utters a short "nheck" and a low whistle. Female gadwalls are similar to males, but have a mottled brown appearance, a yellowish bill with dark spots and a smaller white speculum. She utters a repeated "gag-ag-ag-ag-ag," higher in pitch than the mallard. Breeding: Gadwall breed near seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands, mainly in the shortgrass, tallgrass and mixed prairie regions of the United States and Canada. Substantial numbers also breed in wetland habitats of the Great Basin. Gadwall tend to begin breeding later than most ducks. Female gadwall nest in fields and meadows, and on islands and dikes in wetlands, and lay an average of 7-12 eggs. Migrating and Wintering: Gadwall are distributed throughout the southern two-thirds of the United States in winter, with the greatest concentrations found in the Central and Mississippi flyways. They are found throughout much of the intermountain west of North America, and most of Mexico, in reservoirs, farm ponds and coastal fresh and brackish marshes. They are often found in association with American wigeon and coots. Gadwall are a common winter visitor to Guatemala (Scott and Carbonell, 1986). Population: The North American gadwall population remained stable through the 1970s and early 1980s, while populations of other waterfowl species generally declined. Since the late 1980s, the gadwall population has increased to record levels, with the most recent estimates in the 3-million-bird range, due to improved wetland habitat conditions. Food habits: Aquatic vegetation makes up the majority of the gadwall's diet. As a result, they are often found feeding far from the shoreline, in deeper water than most other dabbling ducks. Gadwall up-end to feed on leafy portions of pondweed, naiad, wigeon grass, water milfoil and algae, as well as the seeds of pondweed, smartweed, bulrush and spike rush. They also feed on aquatic invertebrates, such as crustaceans and midges.

The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos (family Musophagidae, sometimes treated as a separate order, Musophagiformes). Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute. The cuckoo family, in addition to those species named as such, also includes the roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae respectively. The cuckoos are generally medium sized slender birds. The majority are arboreal, with a sizeable minority that are terrestrial. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority of species being tropical. Some species are migratory. The cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. Many species are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, but the majority of species raise their own young.

Migration
Most species of cuckoo are sedentary, but some undertake regular seasonal migrations and others undertake partial migrations over part of their range. The migration isdiurnal, as in the Channel-billed Cuckoo, or nocturnal, as in the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Species breeding at higher latitudes migrate to warmer climates during the winter due to food availability. The Long-tailed Koel, which breeds in New Zealand, flies to its wintering grounds in Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia, a feat described as "perhaps the most remarkable overwater migration of any land bird." [4] The Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Black-billed Cuckoo breed in North America and fly across the Caribbean Sea, a non-stop flight of 4000 km. Other long migration flights include the Lesser Cuckoo, which flies from Africa to India, and the Common Cuckoos of Europe, which fly non-stop over theMediterranean Sea and Sahara Desert on their voyage to central Africa.[5] Within Africa 10 species make regular intra-continental migrations that are described as polarised; that is, they spend the non-breeding season in the tropical centre of the continent and move north and south to breed in the more arid and open savannah and deserts.[6] This is the same as the situation in the Neotropics, where no species have this migration pattern, or tropical Asia, where a single species does. 83% of the Australian species are partial migrants within Australia or travel to New Guinea and Indonesia after the breeding season

Behaviour and ecology

The cuckoos are for the most part solitary birds that seldom occur in pairs or groups. The biggest exception to this are the anis of the Americas, which have evolved cooperative breeding and other social behaviours. For the most part the cuckoos are also diurnalas opposed to nocturnal, but many species call at night (see below). The cuckoos are also generally a shy and retiring family, more often heard than seen. The exception to this are again the anis, which are often extremely confiding towards humans and other species.

The Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), commonly abbreviated to just Night Heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia

Description
Adults are approximately 64 cm (25 in) long and weigh 800 g (28 oz). They have a black crown and back with the remainder of the body white or grey, red eyes, and short yellow legs. They have pale grey wings and white under parts. Two or three long white plumes, erected in greeting and courtship displays, extend from the back of the head. The sexes are similar in appearance although the males are slightly larger. Black-crowned Night Herons do not fit the typical body form of the heron family. They are relatively stocky with shorter bills, legs, and necks than their more familiar cousins, the egrets and "day" herons. Their resting posture is normally somewhat hunched but when hunting they extend their necks and look more like other wading birds. Immature birds have dull grey-brown plumage on their heads, wings, and backs, with numerous pale spots. Their underparts are paler and streaked with brown. The young birds have orange eyes and duller yellowish-green legs. They are very noisy birds in their nesting colonies, with calls that are commonly transcribed as quok or woc, woc.

Distribution
The breeding habitat is fresh and salt-water wetlands throughout much of the world. The subspecies N. n. hoactli breeds in North and South America from Canada as far south as northern Argentina and Chile, N. n. obscurus in southernmost South America, N. n. falklandicus in the Falkland Islands, and the nominate race N. n. nycticorax in Europe,Asia and Africa. Black-crowned Night Herons nest in colonies on platforms of sticks in a group of trees, or on the ground in protected locations such as islands or reedbeds. Three to eight eggs are laid. This heron is migratory in the northernmost part of its range, but otherwise resident (even in the cold Patagonia). The North American population winters in Mexico, the southern United States, Central America, and the West Indies, and the Old World birds winter in tropical Africa and southern Asia.

Behaviour
These birds stand still at the water's edge and wait to ambush prey, mainly at night or early morning. They primarily eat small fish,crustaceans, frogs, aquatic insects, small mammals and small birds. During the day they rest in trees or bushes. N. n. hoactli is more gregarious outside the breeding season than the nominate race.

Description:

The Common Greenshank is a large, rather heavily built wader. When not breeding, it is mainly grey-brown above and pale below. The head and neck are flecked with dark grey. The bill is dark to green-grey and is long with a slight upward curve. There is a narrow white eye ring and the long legs are yellowishgreen. In flight, the Greenshank has a dark outer-wing and an obvious white rump and back. When breeding, there are bold black chevrons on the chest and the upper body is heavily streaked and marked. They are rarely seen in groups but in twos or individually. Young birds are similar to non-breeding adults, but with browner upperparts.

Distribution: The Common Greenshank breeds in the Palaearctic regions and is widespread in Africa, Coastal Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Philippines and southern New Guinea. They are common throughout Australia in the summer. Habitat: Common Greenshanks are found both on the coast and inland, in estuaries and mudflats, mangrove swamps and lagoons, and in billabongs, swamps, sewage farms and flooded crops. Seasonal movements: Common Greenshanks are migratory, breeding in Palaearctic regions and moving south in a broad front, along the coasts and inland to their non-breeding areas. Greenshanks arrive in Australia in August and numbers increase slowly until September, with larger numbers arriving until November. Following their arrival, they normally remain in the same location with some local movements. Birds move north again in March and April. Feeding: Greenshanks eat insects, worms, molluscs, small fish and crustaceans, feeding both by day and night. They feed by picking from the surface, probing, sweeping and lunging at the edges of mudflats or shallows. They may walk along the shoreline and even chase small fish in the shallow water.

Breeding: Common Greenshanks do not breed in Australia but migrate back north to the Palaeartic region. The Greenshank males are the first to arrive at the breeding site and, after establishing a territory, will begin display flights, rising up and down in the air, while singing richly and sometimes tumbling and turning. Females may join in the display. The male will often build more then one nest before the female selects one. Nests are shallow depressions lined with feathers and local vegetation, and are often built near something solid like boulders or tree stumps. Both sexes share the incubation and the raising of the young.

Description and taxonomy

The Arctic Tern is a medium-sized bird around 3336 cm (1315 in) from the tip of its beak to the tip of its tail. The wingspan is 7685 cm.[8] The weight is 86127 g (3.0 4.5 oz). The beak is dark red, as are the short legs and webbed feet. Like most terns, the Arctic Tern has high aspect ratio wings and a tail with a deep fork.[8] The adult plumage is grey above, with a black nape and crown and white cheeks. The upperwings are pale grey, with the area near the wingtip being translucent. The tail is white, and the underparts pale grey. Both sexes are similar in appearance. The winter plumage is similar, but the crown is whiter and the bills are darker.[8] Juveniles differ from adults in their black bill and legs, "scaly" appearing wings, and mantle with dark feather tips, dark carpal wing bar, and short tail streamers.[8] During their first summer, juveniles also have a whiter forecrown.[9] The species has a variety of calls; the two most common being the alarm call, made when possible predators (such as humans or other mammals) enter the colonies, and the advertising call.[10] The advertising call is social in nature, made when returning to the colony and during aggressive encounters between individuals. It is unique to each individual tern and as such it serves a similar role to the bird song of passerines, identifying individuals. Eight other calls have been described, from begging calls made by females during mating to attack calls made while swooping at intruders.

The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a sea bird that breeds in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America in marshes, tundra lakes and shorelines. The species is strongly migratory, seeing two summers each year as it migrates from its northern breeding grounds to the oceans around Antarctica and back, covering a distance of about 38,000 km each year that take 90 days each side. This is the longest regular migration by any known animal. The arctic tern flies as well as glides through the air, performing almost all of its tasks in the air. Arctic Terns are mainly grey, with red beak and feet, white forehead, a black-nape and crown and white cheeks. It is one of the most aggressive birds that fiercely defend its nests and young. Arctic terns leave the Arctic Circle and head eastwards across the Atlantic Ocean, flying down the west coasts of Europe and Africa. In spring they fly north back to the Arctic, following the east coasts of South and North America. Considering an Arctic tern lives up to 30 years, a single bird may travel more than 650,000 miles in its lifetime. The young stay in the southern hemisphere until they are about two years old and will then migrate back to their birthplace. One Arctic Tern, ringed as a chick on the Farne Islands off the British east coast, reached Melbourne, Australia in just three months from fledging, a sea journey of over 22,000 km. The arctic tern may hold the record for longest migration distance since it flies about 35,000 km each year travelling between its arctic breeding ground and non-breeding area in the Antarctic.
Ecology and behaviour
The diet of the Arctic Tern varies depending on location and time, but is usually carnivorous. In most cases, it eats small fish or marine crustaceans. species such as herring, cod, sandlances, and capelin.
[5] [4][8]

Fish species

comprise the most important part of the diet, and account for more of the biomass consumed than any other food. Prey species are immature (12 year old) shoaling Among the marine crustaceans eaten are amphipods, crabs and krill. Sometimes, these birds also eat molluscs, marine worms, or berries, and on their northern breeding grounds, insects.[17] Arctic Terns sometimes dip down to the surface of the water to catch prey close to the surface. They may also chase insects in the air when breeding. [17] It is also thought that Arctic Terns may, in spite of their small size, occasionally engage in kleptoparasitism by swooping at birds so as to startle them into releasing their catches.[17] Several species are targetedconspecifics, other terns (like the Common Tern), and some auk and grebe species.[10]

Pied Crested Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) migrates to large areas in northern India in monsoon and has often been called the harbinger of monsoon or "rain visitor" from Africa. They move across the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean to reach India in May or June. Some believe that the bird uses monsoon winds to assist its flight during this migration. It breeds during June-August and leaves the subcontinent in September/October for Africa. The Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. It is a brood parasite, which lays its eggs in the nests of other bird species, such as meadow pipits and reed warblers. The American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica) breeds in Arctic Tundra and has a long, circular migration route. In the fall it flies offshore from the East Coast of North America non-stop to South America. It leaves the breeding grounds in early summer, but juveniles usually linger until late summer or fall. Some adults arrive on the wintering grounds in southern South America before the last juveniles have left the Arctic. On the return journey in the spring it passes primarily through the middle of North America to reach its arctic breeding grounds. The bird has one of the longest known migratory routes of over 25,000 miles, of which 2,400 miles is over ocean where it cannot stop to feed or drink. Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) nests in a small number of island colonies from the Western Islands, Iceland, in the Faroes, in northern and western Britain and Ireland, Brittany, to the Azores, Madeira and the Canaries. They nest in burrows, laying one white egg which is only visited at night to avoid predation by large gulls. They form life-long monogamous pair-bonds. Young Manx Shearwaters go to sea at night, without their parents, and immediately head for the winter quarters off the coast of southern Brazil and Argentina. Ringing studies in Stockholm show that some of the young make this 60007000 mile journey in less than a fortnight. Manx Shearwaters migrate over 11,000 km to South America in winter, using waters off southern Brazil and Argentina, so this bird has covered a minimum of 1,000,000 km on migration alone in its lifetime. Another bird ringed in 1957 and breeding on Bardsey Island off Wales was calculated by ornithologist Chris Mead to have flown over 8 million km during its life. Penguins. After breeding most penguin species moult, relying on fat reserves to sustain them for a period of 2-5 weeks without food. After moulting, penguins can enter water to find food and migrate. All penguins, except six species that are adapted to inshore life, migrate over long distances and return to land only for the breeding season. Satellite telemetry of Adelie penguin migration shows that these birds travel a path along the coastline of the Antarctic continent to a winter feeding ground in an area north-west of the Balleny Islands, off the Ross Ice Shelf, a distance of 5,500 km. Tracking of Humboldt penguins revealed that most stayed within a 90 km radius of the island on which they breed. Migration is also the time when penguins are most vulnerable, with annual survival estimates ranging from 75% for the Little Penguin to 95% for the Emperor penguin.

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World. It makes the longest known non-stop flight of any bird and also the longest journey without pausing to feed, 11,680 kilometres along a route from Alaska to New Zealand. It was shown in 2007 to undertake the longest nonstop flight by any bird. Birds in New Zealand were tagged and tracked by satellite to the Yellow Sea in China. According to Dr. Clive Minton, the distance between these two locations is 9,575 kilometres but the actual track flown by the bird was 11,026 kilometres. This is the longest known non-stop flight of any bird. The flight took approximately 9 days. At least three other Bar-tailed Godwits also appear to have reached the Yellow Sea after non-stop flights from New Zealand. Albatrosses. Albatrosses are roaming seabirds that live up to 60 years, spending many continuous years at sea before returning to land to breed. Young birds leave New Zealand waters and fly circumpolar through the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans before returning to New Zealand waters to breed as adults when 610 years old. Satellite transmitters have been put on wandering albatross and have shown that birds can travel an incredible 700 kilometres a day. Unfortunately, they also reveal huge losses to long line fishing. The Wandering Albatross, Snowy Albatross, or White-winged Albatross,Diomedea exulans, is a large seabird, which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. Based on tracking the precise movements of 22 birds, reveals that males are most likely to circumnavigate the world, with the fastest managing a distance of 14,000 miles in 46 days the equivalent of a steady 13mph. More than half then made amazing round-the-world journeys the fastest in just 46 days. As the loggers only provide two positions per day, an accurate estimate of the distance is impossible but it is likely to have been at least 14,000 miles. Using satellite telemetry scientists have learned that some parent birds fly as much as 1000 kilometres per day, covering anywhere from 2900 kilometres to an astonishing 15,000 kilometres in a single foraging flight. Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus). The Siberian Cranes nest in Yakutia and western Siberia of Russia and migrate to India. The migration route stretches for 4000 miles. Their resting place at the time of migration is the Lake Ab-i-Estada in Afghanistan. The Kaladeo Ghana National Park or the Bharatpur National Park has been declared a world heritage site because the Siberian Crane traverses nearly half of the globe to reach it. The eastern population winters on the Yangtze River and Lake Poyang in China, the central population at Keoladeo National Park, India (the last Siberian Crane in this population was observed in 2002), and the western population in Fereydoon Kenar in Iran. It breeds and winters in wetlands, where it feeds on the shoots, roots and tubers of aquatic plants. Ducks, shovellers, teals and geese. Some duck species, mainly those breeding in the temperate and Arctic Northern Hemisphere, are migratory; those in the tropics, however, are generally not. Some ducks, particularly in Australia where rainfall is patchy and erratic, are nomadic, seeking out the temporary lakes and pools that form after localised heavy rain. Black-headed bunting (Emberiza melanocephala). The males are quite gorgeous with their black heads, brilliant yellow underparts and rich reddish-brown upperparts. The females are much duller although they often show at least a hint of yellow, especially on the undertail coverts and the head is usually distinctly darker

than the throat, creating a hooded effect which mimics the pattern of the male. Migratory, wintering in western and central India. Arrives in the breeding areas in late April or May and departs in July or early August. Black poll warbler (Dendroica striata) is a New World warbler. These birds breed in northern North America, from Alaska, Canada, and up to New England and winter in northwestern South America. Part of their fall migratory route is over the Atlantic Ocean from the north-eastern United States to Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles, or northern South America. This route averages 1,864 miles over water, requiring a potentially non-stop flight of up to 88 hours. To accomplish this flight, they nearly double their body mass and take advantage of a shift in prevailing wind direction. Humming birds. Most hummingbirds of the U.S. and Canada migrate south in fall to spend the winter in northern Mexico or Central America. Ruby-throated hummingbird flies 600 miles across the Gulf of Mexico in 25 hours non-stop. A few southern South American species also move to the tropics in the southern winter. A few species are year-round residents in the warmer coastal and interior desert regions.