"Bird of passage" redirects here. For other uses, see Bird of Passage (disambiguation).
A flock of barnacle geese during autumn migrationExamples of long-distance bird migration routes
Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate, typically by flying. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, and is driven primarily by the availability of food. It occurs mainly in the Northern Hemisphere.
Migration of species such as storks, turtle doves, and swallows was recorded as many as 3,000 years ago by Ancient Greek authors, including Homer and Aristotle, and in the Book of Job. More recently, Johannes Leche began recording dates of arrivals of spring migrants in Finland in 1749, and modern scientific studies have used techniques including bird ringing and satellite tracking to trace migrants. Threats to migratory birds have grown with habitat destruction, especially of stopover and wintering sites, as well as structures such as power lines and wind farms.
The Arctic tern holds the long-distance migration record for birds, travelling between Arctic breeding grounds and the Antarctic each year. Some species of tubenoses, such as albatrosses, circle the Earth, flying over the southern oceans, while others such as Manx shearwaters migrate 14,000 km (8,700 mi) between their northern breeding grounds and the southern ocean. Shorter migrations are common, while longer ones are not. The shorter migrations include altitudinal migrations on mountains such as the Andes and Himalayas.
The timing of migration seems to be controlled primarily by changes in day length. Migrating birds navigate using celestial cues from the Sun and stars, the Earth's magnetic field, and mental maps.
Birdmigration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate, typically...
Animal migrationBirdmigration Plant migration, see Seed dispersal, the movement or transport of seeds away from the parent plant Gene migration, a process...
Migrating birds face many perils as they travel between breeding and wintering grounds each year. Migration is a dangerous part of a bird's life cycle...
major animal groups, including birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and crustaceans. The cause of migration may be local climate, local availability...
Altitudinal migration is a short-distance animal migration from lower altitudes to higher altitudes and back. Altitudinal migrants change their elevation...
November 2015. "How BirdMigrations Show Up Beautifully on Doppler Radar". Smithsonian.com. Retrieved 9 November 2015. "Following BirdMigration with Doppler"...
Vulture; The Highest Recorded Flying Bird". Boston University. Lincoln, Frederick C. (1999). Migration of Birds. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. p. 30...
scientifically accurate bird illustrations. Aristotle in 350 BC in his History of animals noted the habit of birdmigration, moulting, egg laying, and...
visual and communication abilities, and long-distance migration in some species. Among all birds, male hummingbirds have the widest diversity of plumage...
migratory birds. The bird observatory, which was founded in 1988, rings approximately 20,000 birds a year. During the height of the spring migration in April...
ringing. The subsequent recapture or recovery of the bird can provide information on migration, longevity, mortality, population, territoriality, feeding...
Herbert Jr. (1999). "Bird feeding and irruptions of northern finches:are migrations short stopped?" (PDF). North America Bird Bander. 24 (4): 113–121...
bottleneck shape, it is also a compulsory point of transit in the migration of many bird species. In 1957, a 220 kV overhead power line was built across...
Bird fallout or migration fallout is the result of severe weather preventing migratory birds from reaching their destination. This can occur while birds...
Winged Migration (French: Le Peuple Migrateur, also known as The Travelling Birds in some UK releases, or The Travelling Birds: An Adventure in Flight...
A bird observatory is a centre for the study of birdmigration and bird populations. They are usually focused on local birds, but may also include interest...
cost to use the LEDs is $1,000 per month. During the spring and autumn birdmigration seasons, the lights are turned off to comply with the voluntary Fatal...
understanding the migration of European birds. Before migration was understood, people struggled to explain the sudden annual disappearance of birds like the white...
Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging...
is now known about phenomena such as birdmigration. It was not until the late 19th century that birdmigration research showed that such geese migrate...
fall migrations. Bird strikes above 500 feet (150 m) altitude are about 7 times more common at night than during the day during the birdmigration season...
self-described birders perceive themselves to be more versed in minutiae such as identification (aural and visual), molt, distribution, migration timing, and...
located in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, a corridor used by bird of prey for migration. 24 of the 56 kinds of Asian raptors can be found in both locations...
important difference with birdmigration is that an individual butterfly or moth usually migrates in one direction, while birds migrate back and forth multiple...
of the hawk's migration is the flight direction because the direction or path the bird chooses to take could greatly affect its migration. The force of...
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