Bird makes world record by flying 8,435 miles continuously
WeirdNews
The record was previously set in 2020 by another member of the same species
AUSTRALIA (Web Desk) - Guinness World Records announced a juvenile bar-tailed godwit broke the record for the longest non-stop migration by a bird when it flew 8,435 miles from Alaska to Tasmania, Australia.
The record-keeping organization said the bird, known by tag number 234684, was wearing a 5G satellite tag when it departed Alaska on Oct. 11, 2022, and landed in Tasmania 11 days later, without stopping a single time for food or rest.
GWR said the record was previously set in 2020 by another member of the same species and this year s godwit broke the record by 217 miles.
Eric Woehler of Birdlife Tasmania told Guinness World Records the record-breaking bird probably lost "half or more of its body weight during continuous day and night flight."
"Short-tailed shearwaters and mutton birds can land on the water and feed. If a godwit lands on water, it s dead. It doesn t have the webbing in its feet, it has no way of getting off. So if it falls onto the ocean s surface from exhaustion, or if bad weather forces it to land, that s the end," he said.
