Even taking into account all the fat they accumulate to carry out their impressive migration, striped warblers (Setophaga striata) They have a mass of just 17 grams.
The equivalent of fifty aspirin tablets that makes a stopover of 2,770 kilometers across the open sea.
The journey
The Striated Warbler heads south in the fall from northwestern North America and travels to the Caribbean, and even to Colombia and Venezuela. For a long time, it was unknown how much time he spent flying over the ocean.
Now, however, we already have the data in this regard, as explained David Barrie in his book The most incredible trips:
With the help of extraordinarily small tracking devices, scientists have managed to demonstrate that they can fly endlessly from Long Island to the island of Hispaniola or Puerto Rico, a distance of 2,770 kilometers across the open sea.
So these birds can complete non-stop flights of between 2,270 and 2,770 kilometers in just two or three days. Therefore, before starting the trip, it doubles its body mass by storing lipids and proteins, and it can do so in just one week. Later, The moment it begins to fly, a process of atrophy of its digestive system begins..
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The news
A bird weighing only 17 grams that travels 2,770 kilometers across the open sea: the striped warbler
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.