The Magic LEVELED BOOK • O

of Migration
A Reading A–Z Level O Leveled Book The Magic of
Migration
Word Count: 689

Written by Judy Braus

Visit www.readinga-z.com
www.readinga-z.com
for thousands of books and materials.
PhotoPhoto
Credits:
Credits:
Photo Credits:
FrontFront
cover,cover,
back back
cover,cover,
pagespages3, 4, 63,(inset),
4, 6 (inset),
8, 11, 13:
8, 11,
© 13:
Jupiterimages
© Jupiterimages
Corporation;
Corporation;
Front cover, back cover, pages 3, 4, 6 (inset), 8, 11, 13: © Jupiterimages Corporation;
title page,
title page,
pagepage
5: © Elmer
5: © Elmer
Frederick
Frederick
Fischer/Corbis;
Fischer/Corbis;pagepage
6 (main):
6 (main):
© REUTERS/
© REUTERS/ Notes
title page, page 5: © Elmer Frederick Fischer/Corbis; page 6 (main): © REUTERS/
Romeo Romeo
Ranoco;
Ranoco;
pagespages
7, 12: 7,
© 12:
ArtToday;
© ArtToday;pagepage
9: © Stephen
9: © Stephen
Romeo Ranoco; pages 7, 12: © ArtToday; page 9: © Stephen Lackie/Corbis; page
10 (both):
10 (both):
courtesy
courtesy
of USFWS;
of USFWS;
pagepage
14 (main):
14 (main):
© Adrian© Adrian
Lackie/Corbis;
Lackie/Corbis;
Hepworth/Alamy;
Hepworth/Alamy;
pagepage
pagepage
14 14
N
10 (both): courtesy of USFWS; page 14 (main): © Adrian Hepworth/Alamy; page 14
(inset):
(inset):
© Frank
© Frank
Burek/Corbis
Burek/Corbis
(inset): © Frank Burek/Corbis

ATLANTIC
OCEAN

PACIFIC
OCEAN

Gray whales
Loggerhead turtles
Monarch butterflies

Migration paths

Every year, millions of animals

move from one place to another to
find food, water, better weather, or
a place to nest or raise their young .
Some travel alone, but others travel
The Magic
The Magic
of Migration
of Migration
The Magic of Migration
LevelLevel
O Leveled
O Leveled
Book Book in huge flocks or herds . But no
Level O Leveled Book
© Learning
© Learning
A–Z A–Z Correlation
Correlation
Correlation
© Learning A–Z
LEVEL
LEVEL O matter how they travel, they all take
O O
Written
Written
by Judy
by Judy
BrausBraus
Written by Judy Braus
Illustrated
Illustrated
by Craig
by Craig
Frederick
Frederick LEVEL
Illustrated by Craig Frederick
All rights
All rights
reserved.
reserved.
Fountas
Fountas
Fountas &
& Pinnell
& Pinnell M
Pinnell M M the magical journey of migration .
All rights reserved. Reading
Reading
Reading Recovery
Recovery20
Recovery 20 20
www.readinga-z.com
www.readinga-z.com
www.readinga-z.com
DRA
DRADRA 28
28 28 The Magic of Migration • Level O
The Magic of Migration • Level O 15
15

16 16
www.readinga-z.com
path (finding), 6, 11, 12

ocean currents, 4, 7, 14
Written by Judy Braus water, 4, 8 monarch butterflies, 13
time, 6 magnetic, 12
threats, 7 food, 4, 6, 8, 9
survive, 5 eggs, 10, 14
plains, 4, 8 birds, 9
Index
tufted tail (p . 8)
antelopes with a long,
large, ox-like African wildebeests

to lay eggs (p . 10) spawn

long distance (p . 12)
to fing one’s way over a navigate

another (p . 4)

Migration animals from one place to

the periodic movement of
no rainfall (p . 8)
migration

The Magic of a long period with little or

Notes
Glossary
drought
 Many marine creatures also
migrate—from huge humpback
whales to lobsters, sharks, sea
turtles, and tuna . Some, such as
many of the sea turtles, follow
ocean currents to get from one part
of the vast ocean to another . But
scientists still don’t know how these
creatures find exactly the right
beach to lay their eggs—the same
Table of Contents
one they hatched on years before . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
What Is Migration? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Search for Food and Water . . . 8
Finding a Place to Nest . . . . . . . . . 10
How Do They Do It? . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Insects, Whales, and Turtles . . . . 13
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Main: Baby loggerhead turtles head out to sea after hatching on the same
beach where their parents were born. Inset: Adult loggerhead Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
14 14 The Magic of Migration • Level O
The Magic of Migration • Level O 3
3

13
13 The Magic of Migration • Level O
The Magic of Migration • Level O 4 4
the journey back home . of migration .
into young butterflies that complete are taking part in the magic journey
females lay eggs . The eggs develop a place to raise their young . And all
way . The adults die after the for food, water, warmer climates, or
return north, breeding along the ocean currents . All are searching
mountains . In the spring, the adults make their way through strong
spend winter on specific trees in the across great plains . And still others
States . They thousands of miles . Others thunder
Monarch butterflies
of the United across the skies for hundreds or
southern parts Some animals wing their way
to Mexico and
Introduction
North America
eastern parts of
Geese head south for warmer climates in the fall.
northern and
travel from the
black butterflies
butterflies . These bright orange and
migrations is that of monarch
One of the most interesting yearly

Insects, Whales, and Turtles

 Some animals migrate at the same How Do They Do It?
time every year and follow the
How do animals find
same path . Others follow more
their way when they
irregular patterns because their
migrate? Although
movement depends on local
scientists don’t have
conditions, such as the weather .
all the answers yet,
There are also some animals that
they are learning
only migrate one-way, such as
more every year about
masses of locusts that migrate
the mysteries of
when their numbers get so big that
migration . Some
they need to find new sources of Indigo
animals, such as salmon,
food . They Bunting

use their sense of smell to

stay in a new
find the stream where they were
field until
first born . Others, such as indigo
they need
buntings and other night-flying
another
birds, use the stars to guide their
source of food .
way . Day-flying birds use the sun
and also watch for special
landmarks, such as coastlines and
Locusts swarm a new feeding ground. mountains, to stay on course .
6 6 The Magic of Migration • Level O
The Magic of Migration • Level O 11
11

5
5 The Magic of Migration • Level O
The Magic of Migration • Level O 12 12
Pilot whales migrate.
helping guide birds as they migrate.
They think these tiny particles are pulled by Earth’s poles,
a magnetic substance, magnetite, in some birds’ brains.
north and south poles. They have found tiny particles of
many species of birds navigate by sensing Earth’s magnetic
Think of Earth as a giant magnet. Scientists think that
Magnetic Brains

South Pole

Earth.
inside the
one place to another to survive . magnet
a giant
field acts like
some kinds of insects move from magnetic
Earth’s
and wildebeests, salmon, and even
turtles, large grazers such as caribou
migrate . Birds, bats, whales, sea North Pole

And many different types of animals them .

to describe these animal journeys . sense Earth’s magnetic pull to guide
Migration is the term scientists use believe some animals are able to
ways that animals navigate . They
What Is Migration?
Scientists are still exploring other
 The Search for Food and Water
The most common reason why
animals migrate is to find food and
water . One of the most spectacular
examples can be found in Africa .
Every year more than a million
wildebeests, which are large,
grazing animals, migrate because
of drought . When hot weather
dries up grass and water supplies Every year Arctic Terns
fly 22,000 miles on
in one place, these fast-on-their-feet these migration routes
N
from the Arctic, where
wildebeests travel in huge herds to they nest, all the way
to Antarctica, where
find new sources of food and water . Antarctica they spend the winter.
As these large mammals thunder
across the great Many birds also make spectacular
plains of eastern journeys to find the food they need .
Africa, hundreds of Warblers, flycatchers, storks,
thousands of zebras pelicans, terns, and all kinds
and gazelles join of other birds migrate every year
Wildebeest them on their journey . to find food .
The Magic of Migration • Level O 9
The Magic of Migration • Level O
8 8 9
7 The Magic of Migration • Level O
7 The Magic of Migration • Level O 10 10
for survival .
better living conditions is important
fishermen . But migrating to find wouldn’t survive the switch.
kidneys. Without it, they
ocean currents, hunters, and special adaptation in their
salt water, eels have a very
hungry predators, strong winds, To move from freshwater to
threats along the way, including
make . Migrating animals face many
dangerous journeys an animal can
Migration is one of the most migrating to the open sea to spawn .
leaving their freshwater homes and
Hungry bears are a threat to migrating salmon.
freshwater eels, do the opposite,
streams . And some, such as
or lay their eggs, in freshwater
salmon and trout, migrate to spawn,
fish, such as
young . Many
Female salmon to raise their
to find a place to lay their eggs or
Another reason animals migrate is
Finding a Place to Nest