Birds can fly continuously for 56 days without rest

Scientists say the Frigate birds can fly continuously for 56 days without rest.

This research has just been presented in the prestigious Science magazine. At the top of this work is Henri Weimerskirch from the National Center for Scientific and Biological Research of France. The group used GPS tracking devices that were attached to dozens of birds from 2011 to 2015.

Frigate bird.

Scientists were surprised to find that these birds could fly in the sky for 56 days continuously, traveling hundreds of miles every day without having to land. They can fly at a height of 2.5 miles.

Scientists have attached small tracking devices to the nape of the birds. These devices rely on solar energy with heart rate, GPS and accelerometer tracking . Weimerskirch says that these devices weigh only 10 grams so they do not affect normal operation at all. of birds.

They spend almost 10% of their time on food.

Frigate birds fly for long periods from the middle of the Indian Ocean. They spend almost 10% of their time on food. They fly very high and can travel 400 miles every day. Researchers found that only when they responded to the nest did their heart rate slow down. They even thought that these birds probably slept in the air while making long flights.

Scientists say a small number of birds can fly high at 2.5 miles - where oxygen in the air is quite diluted and water can freeze, the Frigate is a typical. Indeed nature always gives us the exciting and unexpected discoveries.