Why Do Birds Migrate Like This?

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Migrating birds care more about the ease of their trip than the distance they travel, and that leads to some truly roundabout routes.

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To learn more, start your googling with these keywords:
Migration: The seasonal movement of a population of animals from one area to another.
Prevailing winds: Winds in a particular area that blow in a particular direction.
Thermal: An upward current of warm air.
Lift: A force that counteracts the weight of an object and holds it in the air.
Flyway: A route regularly used by lots of migrating birds.
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Credits (and Twitter handles):
Script Writer: David Goldenberg (@dgoldenberg)
Script Editor: Alex Reich (@alexhreich)
Video Illustrator: Arcadi García
Video Director: Emily Elert (@eelert)
Video Narrator: Emily Elert (@eelert)
With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Kate Yoshida, Ever Salazar, Peter Reich
Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder

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References:

Horton, K., Van Doren, B., Stepanian, P.,Hochachka, W., Farnsworth, A., and Kelly, J. (2016). Nocturnally migrating songbirds drift when they can and compensate when they must. Scientific Reports 6, 1-8. Nature. Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep21249

Kranstauber,B., Weinzierl, R., Wikelski, M., Safi, K. (2015). Global aerial flyways allow efficient travelling. Ecology Letters. 18: 133. Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.12528/full

Liechti, F. (2006). Birds: blowin’ by the wind.Journal of Ornithology. 47: 202–211. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-006-0061-9.

Reddy, G., Celani, A., Sejnowski, T., and Vergassola, M. (2016). Learning to soar in turbulent environments. PNAS. 113(33):E4877-84. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27482099

Shamoun-Baranes, J., Leshem, Y., Yom-Tov, Y., and Liech, O. (2003). Differential use of thermal convection by soaring birds over central Israel. The Condor. 105:208-218. Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1370541.

Leshem, Yossi. (2017) Professor of Life Science, Tel-Aviv University. Personal Communication.