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Researchers have revealed swifts are able to fly for ten months straight.
STATES CHRONICLE – A particular species of birds can fly for ten months without landing. During the annual migration, the swift can become airborne for extended periods. In Sweden, a team of scientists has gathered to prove that these birds have an almost inexhaustible source of energy for flying. They conducted a study meant to analyze data regarding many species. That information was dating back to 2014 and 2013.
Scientists have implemented GPSs on some birds and recaptured them to analyze the information. They have revealed that they are capable of continuously flying for the whole non-breeding time span. Those monitoring devices managed to collect data about the flight and acceleration activity. The transmitters attached in 2014 had also displayed some light trackers.
Based on the study which was published in Current Biology, one of the birds which were analyzed was registered to stop for only four nights in 2014 and just 2 hours in 2015. The bird has flown for almost an entire year without needing the urge to rest its wings. That is an outstanding fact.
Swifts are capable of flying for ten months, and what is more, they usually spend their whole life up in the air. Researchers have proved that swifts which set up for a journey starting from Europe to Africa don’t land in Africa. There were never discovered resting areas for these birds.
After analyzing their route, scientists established that swifts might stop when the weather conditions are not appropriate for flying. Otherwise, they usually spend all their time up in the air. Their continuous flight may suggest that this species does not necessary have to land to sleep. The sleeping period and its stages remain a mystery for scientists.
Susanne Alesson, a professor at Lund University in Sweden, has claimed that swifts can gather nest material, mate, and eat while flying. They can land on tree branches, houses or nest, but it is almost impossible for them to touch the ground. The explanation is that their short legs do not allow them to lift off from a flat surface.
Their large wings make it difficult for them to maintain their balance and set off from the ground. The explanation for these journeys that last for ten months is their diet. They fed on insects which are caught when flying.
Image source: wikipedia
