A bar-tailed godwit (a type of migratory bird) broke a record by completing the longest non-stop f light ever. The animal departed from Alaska, in the United States, and flew to Tasmania, a state in Australia, traveling a total of 13,560 kilometers — about five times the distance by plane between São Paulo (SP state) and Manaus (AM state). The story was posted on the Guinness World Records website on January 3rd.

The godwit’s journey started on October 13th, 2022 and took 11 days and one hour to complete. During the journey, the bird did not stop to rest or feed. According to Guinness, the godwit can carry out longer fl ights because of its ability to decrease its body weight. This species’ organism can digest parts of its own organs, using them as a source of energy. The godwit can also increase the size of its heart and chest muscles in order to obtain more oxygen.

Scientists tagged the animal with the number 234684 on the lower part of its back using 5G technology (the fastest type of satellite signal). This monitoring aims to study the behavior and habits of di_ erent species and is carried out by researchers from organizations including the Miranda Shorebird Center in New Zealand and the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

What I think…

“That 13,560 km journey was quite risky, mainly because it lost much of its body weight. Even though it was important for history, it was risky. But it’s always nice to hear about new records.” Diego P., age 10, Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state)

Sources: G1, Guinness World Records, and NDTV

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