|
Migration |
||||||||||||||||||||
MAIN PAGE
|
What does the word migrate mean? It just means to go from one place to another. Many ducks and geese migrate north to south every year. Almost all birds migrate. Some go only across the state, like Rhode Island. Others may take a long trip of 3,000 miles. That’s like driving from Connecticut to Florida and back. WHY? Why do birds fly every year? It’s not safe. It takes a lot of energy. Ornithologists think that birds migrate because they will get to cold in the winter if they stay north. They will run out of food and water in the winter. Also, water turns into ice when it gets cold and birds need water. Best idea is that they start to get very hungry when summer turns to fall. This great hunger pushes the bird to migrate. HOW? There are a lot of good ideas about how birds know when to go and how to do it:
The Blue-Winged Teal Duck
This little guy wins 1st Prize for migrating farther than any other duck. Every year he flies from as far north as Alaska to the lowest parts of South America in the country of Argentina. What a journey! I’ll take a plane, thanks. Take a look on the map below to see how he might take his trip. FLIGHT PATTERNS
The leader is the strongest of the flock. It helps guide the flock in the right direction. The force of its wing flap also helps the flock. The flapping benefits the next bird in line. Then the one after that benefits from its flap until the whole flock in the "V" has been boosted. This is great team work! It also saves each of the bird's body energy needed for the long journey. AIR FLOW MOVEMENT
Activity:
|