I just started reading an article in the latest SciAm about feathers,
including their evolution. The first paragraph gave me a WOW moment that
i thought I would share (below). I haven't read much beyond that yet.'

"In October 2022 a bird with the code name B6 set a new world record
that few people outside the field of ornithology noticed. Over the
course of 11 days, B6, a young Bar-tailed Godwit, flew from its hatching
ground in Alaska to its wintering ground in Tasmania, covering 8,425
miles without taking a single break. For comparison, there is only one commercial aircraft that can fly that far nonstop, a Boeing 777 with a
213-foot wingspan and one of the most powerful jet engines in the world.
During its journey, B6—an animal that could perch comfortably on your shoulder—did not land, did not eat, did not drink and <i>did not stop flapping</i>, sustaining an average ground speed of 30 miles per hour 24
hours a day as it winged its way to the other end of the world.
--
--
Don Cates ("he's a cunning rascal" PN)

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On Sat, 11 May 2024 12:21:59 -0500, the following appeared
in talk.origins, posted by DB Cates <cates_db@hotmail.com>:

I just started reading an article in the latest SciAm about feathers, >including their evolution. The first paragraph gave me a WOW moment that
i thought I would share (below). I haven't read much beyond that yet.'

"In October 2022 a bird with the code name B6 set a new world record
that few people outside the field of ornithology noticed. Over the
course of 11 days, B6, a young Bar-tailed Godwit, flew from its hatching >ground in Alaska to its wintering ground in Tasmania, covering 8,425
miles without taking a single break. For comparison, there is only one >commercial aircraft that can fly that far nonstop, a Boeing 777 with a >213-foot wingspan and one of the most powerful jet engines in the world. >During its journey, B6—an animal that could perch comfortably on your >shoulder—did not land, did not eat, did not drink and <i>did not stop >flapping</i>, sustaining an average ground speed of 30 miles per hour 24 >hours a day as it winged its way to the other end of the world.

That's pretty amazing. IIRC Arctic terns make longer
flights, but I'm pretty sure they don't do them nonstop. And
while albatrosses stay in the air for 11 months or so, they
eat "on the wing", and they don't do a lot of flapping.

Thanks!

--

Bob C.

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

- Isaac Asimov

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On 2024-05-11 4:30 PM, FromTheRafters wrote:

JTEM presented the following explanation :

  DB Cates wrote:

"In October 2022 a bird with the code name B6 set a new world record
that few people outside the field of ornithology noticed. Over the
course of 11 days, B6, a young Bar-tailed Godwit, flew from its
hatching ground in Alaska to its wintering ground in Tasmania,
covering 8,425 miles without taking a single break. For comparison,
there is only one commercial aircraft that can fly that far nonstop,
a Boeing 777 with a 213-foot wingspan and one of the most powerful
jet engines in the world. During its journey, B6—an animal that could
perch comfortably on your shoulder—did not land, did not eat, did not
drink and <i>did not stop flapping</i>, sustaining an average ground
speed of 30 miles per hour 24 hours a day as it winged its way to the
other end of the world.

It's not hard to imagine them tagging a bird, tracking it with GPS,
but to know that it was continuously flapping it's wings?

https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/48/1/134/627446

I suppose with a rigorous enough definition of "continuous beating" they
don't. But they are physically incapable of long gliding like an
albatross but it is likely they use continuous beating with occasional
short pauses, a common thing. But they know it never stopped or fed
(continuous tracking) and it can't land on water without dying (can't
feed and can't take off).
The only time I've ever seen a shorebird gliding is when it is coming in
for a landing.
--
--
Don Cates ("he's a cunning rascal" PN)

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On Sun, 12 May 2024 10:04:11 -0700
erik simpson <eastside.erik@gmail.com> wrote:

On 5/12/24 5:28 AM, jillery wrote:

On Sat, 11 May 2024 18:28:08 -0500, DB Cates <cates_db@hotmail.com>
wrote:

On 2024-05-11 4:30 PM, FromTheRafters wrote:

JTEM presented the following explanation :

  DB Cates wrote:

"In October 2022 a bird with the code name B6 set a new world record >>>>> that few people outside the field of ornithology noticed. Over the >>>>> course of 11 days, B6, a young Bar-tailed Godwit, flew from its
hatching ground in Alaska to its wintering ground in Tasmania,
covering 8,425 miles without taking a single break. For comparison, >>>>> there is only one commercial aircraft that can fly that far nonstop, >>>>> a Boeing 777 with a 213-foot wingspan and one of the most powerful >>>>> jet engines in the world. During its journey, B6—an animal that could >>>>> perch comfortably on your shoulder—did not land, did not eat, did not >>>>> drink and <i>did not stop flapping</i>, sustaining an average ground >>>>> speed of 30 miles per hour 24 hours a day as it winged its way to the >>>>> other end of the world.

It's not hard to imagine them tagging a bird, tracking it with GPS,
but to know that it was continuously flapping it's wings?

https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/48/1/134/627446

I suppose with a rigorous enough definition of "continuous beating" they >> don't. But they are physically incapable of long gliding like an
albatross but it is likely they use continuous beating with occasional
short pauses, a common thing. But they know it never stopped or fed
(continuous tracking) and it can't land on water without dying (can't
feed and can't take off).
The only time I've ever seen a shorebird gliding is when it is coming in >> for a landing.
--

Perhaps it was an African Gotwit.

--
To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge

There we go! Perhaps they travel in pairs, with one carrying the other
to give it some rest, maybe even with three birds, one carrying food for
all.

Clearly a relay of untagged Godwits were refuelling it on it's endurance
record attempt.



--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

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