Uploaded November 2022 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago

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The bar-tailed godwit makes the longest nonstop flight of any bird: From Alaska to New Zealand. And they have to shrink their organs to do it.

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Sources:
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000362
nytimes.com/2022/09/20/science/migratory-birds-godwits.html
worldbirdnames.org/bow/sandpipers
researchgate.net/publication/290005806_Assessment_of_the_Anadyr_lowland_subspecies_of_Bar-tailed_Godwit_Limosa_lapponica_anadyrensis
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.13024
iucnredlist.org/species/22693158/111221714#geographic-range
iucnredlist.org/species/22693158/111221714#habitat-ecology
ebird.org/species/batgod
researchgate.net/profile/Theunis-Piersma/publication/273697610_Migration_distance_and_breeding_latitude_correlate_with_the_scheduling_of_pre-alternate_body_moult_a_comparison_among_migratory_waders/links/5587ed6308ae71f6ba91857b/Migration-distance-and-breeding-latitude-correlate-with-the-scheduling-of-pre-alternate-body-moult-a-comparison-among-migratory-waders.pdf
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960216.x
ebird.org/species/batgod1
iowadnr.gov/About-DNR/DNR-News-Releases/ArticleID/2868/8-cool-things-you-should-know-about-Canada-geese
pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70135114
academic.oup.com/auk/article/139/2/ukab086/6523130#343579373
frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.685764/full
asknature.org/strategy/organ-changes-enable-long-migration
nature.com/articles/ncomms12468

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Images:
gettyimages.com/detail/video/asian-man-driving-car-at-dawn-stock-footage/900367210?phrase=road%20trip
gettyimages.com/detail/video/driving-on-a-country-road-through-the-forest-stock-footage/1335250667?phrase=roadtrip
gettyimages.com/detail/video/aerial-drone-shot-of-us-highway-rest-stop-during-peak-stock-footage/1286518627?phrase=rest%20stop
gettyimages.com/detail/video/day-to-night-time-lapse-from-high-up-on-the-alps-stock-footage/841155400?phrase=day%20to%20night
gettyimages.com/detail/video/bar-tailed-godwit-summer-plumage-flight-stock-footage/1225977297?phrase=Bar-tailed%20godwit
gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/world-map-vector-silhouette-on-white-royalty-free-illustration/1311051529
youtube.com/watch?v=bUVTB8og43E
gettyimages.com/detail/video/bar-tailed-godwit-eating-crabs-stock-footage/1322320831?phrase=Bar-tailed%20godwit
youtu.be/3CqBfJN4qts?t=91
gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/world-map-vector-silhouette-on-white-royalty-free-illustration/1311051529https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/bar-tailed-godwit-stock-footage/1316706910?phrase=bartailed%20godwit
gettyimages.com/detail/video/flock-of-graceful-canadian-geese-flying-in-slow-motion-stock-footage/493565586?phrase=Canada%20Goose
gettyimages.com/detail/video/bar-tailed-godwit-or-limosa-lapponica-stock-footage/1014513378?phrase=Bar-tailed%20godwit
gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/world-map-vector-silhouette-on-white-royalty-free-illustration/1311051529
gettyimages.com/detail/photo/bar-tailed-godwit-royalty-free-image/871176058?phrase=Bar-tailed%20godwit
gettyimages.com/detail/video/bar-tailed-godwit-or-limosa-lapponica-stock-footage/1014518920?phrase=Bar-tailed%20godwit
bit.ly/3zGAlnL
bit.ly/3NxI9Od
bit.ly/3FZRtZN
youtube.com/watch?v=HzF_2AcXets
youtu.be/3CqBfJN4qts?t=91
bit.ly/3UoLeCx
bit.ly/3fAeHL1
youtube.com/watch?v=aFmQCnl1Dbo
inaturalist.org/observations/116309898
bit.ly/3NwsVcm
bit.ly/3E0pDLa
bit.ly/3Ww8O1U
bit.ly/3T3Ryy8
bit.ly/3Nzazr5
gettyimages.com/detail/photo/bar-tailed-godwit-royalty-free-image/1182616741?phrase=bar-tailed%20godwit