• Every year, billions of birds undertake extraordinary migrations, crossing vast deserts and open seas with no place to stop, feed, or rest. • A new international study published in iScience by a consortium of researchers from Tour du Valat, CEFE/CNRS, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle and Swiss Ornithological Institute reveals that small migratory birds adjust how high they fly over these ecological barriers, and that their strategies depend on wing morphology and plumage color.
Article Summaries:
- A new international study published in iScience shows that small migratory birds alter their flight altitude when crossing large ecological barriers such as deserts and open seas. Researchers from Tour du Valat, CEFE/CNRS, the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle and the Swiss Ornithological Institute found that the birds’ altitude adjustments depend on wing shape and plumage colour. The findings suggest that birds use morphological traits to optimise energy use and navigation over featureless stretches where stopping is impossible, offering fresh insight into how species adapt to extreme migratory challenges.
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