Migration of birds

Definition of Migration
Migration of birds is one of the most fascinating phenomena
in which birds travel from one habitat to another in search of
favourable conditions and increased resources for survival
and it also involves the journey to return to the original
place. It also happens during seasonal change or movement
between breeding and non-breeding locations. Migration is
not an easy process, as birds have to cover long distances in
order to reach their destinations and during these journeys,
they need a lot of energy, food, water, sufficient rest, and not
all the migration journeys become successful and some of
the birds die as well in these journeys.
The changing picture of bird populations throughout the year
intrigues those who are observant and wish to know the
source and destination of these birds. While many species of
fish, mammals, and even insects undertake amazing
migratory journeys, birds as a group are the most mobile
creatures on earth. Even humans with their many vehicles of
locomotion do not equal some birds in mobility.
Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north
and south, along a flyway,
between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species
of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and
mortality, including from hunting by humans, and is driven
primarily by the availability of food. It occurs mainly in
the northern hemisphere, where birds are funnelled onto
specific routes by natural barriers such as the Mediterranean
Sea or the Caribbean Se.
Migration of species such as stork, turtle doves,
and swallow was recorded as many as 3,000 years ago
by Ancient Greek authors, including Homer and Aristotle, and
in the Book of Job. More recently, Johannes Leche began
recording dates of arrivals of spring migrants in Finland in
1749, and modern scientific studies have used techniques
including bird ringing and satellite tracking to trace migrants.
Threats to migratory birds have grown with habitat
destruction, especially of stopover and wintering sites, as
well as structures such as power lines and wind farms.
The Arctic term holds the long-distance migration record for
birds, travelling between Arctic breeding grounds and
the Antarctic each year. Some species of tubenoses
(Procellariiformes) such as albatrosses circle the Earth, flying
over the southern oceans, while others such as Manx
shearwaters migrate 14,000 km (8,700 mi) between their
northern breeding grounds and the southern ocean. Shorter
migrations are common, while longer ones are not. The
shorter migrations include altitudinal migrations on
mountains such as the Andes and Himalayas.
The timing of migration seems to be controlled primarily by
changes in day length. Migrating birds navigate using celestial
cues from the Sun and stars, the Earth's magnetic field, and
mental maps.

Some of the examples of migratory birds include:

 Siberian cranes and Greater flamingo are migratory

birds that are usually seen in India in the winter season.

 Asiatic Sparrow Hawk migrates to India and Myanmar

during winters.
 Swallow, which is a small bird, migrates from Southern

England to Southern Africa.

 Red Wing lives in Eurasia or the Himalayas but flies to

Africa in Winter.
 Sand Martin that live in Eurasia or North America usually

migrate to southern areas which depend on their zones.

 Whinchat who lives in Europe flies to Africa between

October to March.
 Common Rosefinch lives in Eurasia and flies to southern

parts of Asia in Winters.

 Names of other migrating birds are Black-headed gull,

Green Sandpiper, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Hobby,

Gray Heron, etc.
Why do birds migrate?
Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north
and south along between breeding and wintering grounds.
Birds migrate mainly due to the changing climate and also in
search of food.
Birds migrate to move from areas of low or decreasing
resources to areas of high or increasing resources. The two
primary resources being sought are food and nesting
locations.
Birds that nest in the Northern Hemisphere tend to migrate
northward in the spring to take advantage of burgeoning
insect populations, budding plants and an abundance of
nesting locations. As winter approaches and the availability
of insects and other food drops, the birds move south
again. Escaping the cold is a motivating factor but many
species, including hummingbirds, can withstand freezing
temperatures as long as an adequate supply of food is
available.
Birds migrate for a number of reasons, including: Food,
Nesting, Climate, Daylight, Extreme weather, Predator :

There can be several reasons for the birds' migration. Food is

one of the major reasons for their migration. If they all stay
at one place then food will be exhausted & scarce during the
breeding time. Thus, they migrate to food-abundant areas.
During the breeding season, the depletion of food will not
only affect the adult birds but also attract a lot of predators
because they become an easy meal for them.
Birds usually migrate for their family or we can say for
healthy breeding for which they require healthy conditions
for raising their offspring. Another reason can be a change in
the climatic or weather conditions of the locations and if any
change occurs in these conditions can cause their migration
because it makes it difficult for them to survive in these harsh
conditions. On the other hand, they also can migrate to save
themselves and their offspring from predators and various
diseases. They usually migrate to places where they are safe
and are inaccessible to predators.

Types of Migration
The types of migrating birds can be judged through the type
of migration they adopt which can be cleared from the
following:
 Seasonal Migration: It happens with the change in

seasons. Birds migrate from a location when they are

not able to survive in harsh conditions.
 Latitudinal or Longitudinal: This kind of migration

happens between different latitudinal or longitudinal

locations. Either North to South or East to West or vice -
versa.
 Altitudinal: It generally happens for those birds who give

birth at high altitude areas, and when they have to

migrate again because of the harsh conditions over
there.
 Loop: Those who follow this kind of migration, those

birds usually follow annual migration in a cycle again

and again to enjoy the resources of two locations.
  Nomadic: Understanding exact patterns and their
timings are not easy, they stay in one place until
sufficient resources are available otherwise they will
migrate.
 Leap Frog: It is a kind of skip migration in which birds
migrate to long distances in order to skip a sedentary
population.
 Reverse: Aberration among birds is seen when they are
confused and choose an unexpected path and go in the
opposite direction.

Modes of Migration
Birds can migrate in three different ways:
Short-distance: These migrations are relatively small, such as
moving from a higher to lower elevation on a mountainside.
Medium-distance: These migrations cover a few hundred
miles.
Long-distance: These migrations can cover thousands of
miles. Most North American birds, including geese, orioles,
and flycatchers, fall into this category.

The migration flights of birds follow specific routes,

sometimes quite well defined over long distances. The
majority of bird migrants, however, travel along broad
airways. A single population of migrants may be scattered
over a vast territory so as to form a broad front hundreds of
miles in width.
 Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often
north and south, along a flyway,
between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species
of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and
mortality, including from hunting by humans, and is driven
primarily by the availability of food. It occurs mainly in
the northern hemisphere, where birds are funnelled onto
specific routes by natural barriers such as the Mediterranean
Sea or the Caribbean Sea.

Routes of Migration
The migratory birds usually follow definite lines of flight.
The route followed by them may be the same while going
and returning back or may be different.

The nocturnal small birds migrate with the general air flow.
In spring it takes place from South to North along warm air
currents, and in autumn from North to South with the cool
wind of North. Change in their course occurs due to
configuration of land, coastline, path of great rivers and
intervening mountain ranges, etc.

Different migratory birds may follow the following routes

during their migration:

(а) Sea Routes:

Marine birds follow sea routes. The land birds are known to
cross as much as 400 miles of ocean in a stroke but if there
are intermediate islands the distance covered may be
more. Certain birds have been seen crossing the Atlantic
Ocean between Azores and Portugal (900 miles) and the
ocean between the continents of North America and
Bermuda, etc.

(b) Coastal Routes:

The coastal routes afford migration for a large number of

migrants. Certain important migratory coastal routes are-
East Atlantic coastline. West Atlantic coastline, East Pacific
coastline. West Pacific coastline. East Indies coastline and
West Indies coastline.

(c) River-Valley Routes:

While migrating from planes to hills and from hills to

planes, the migratory birds cross rivers and river-valleys
falling in the way.

(d) Mountain Ranges:

Very rarely the birds cross mountain ranges.

The river valleys, mountain ranges and coastal routes

provide good landmarks for the migrating birds, which
enable the birds to recognise and remember the routes
and entrances to the countries. Deviations in path
sometimes occur due to configuration of land, coastline,
course of great rivers or intervening mountain chains.

Causes of Migration in birds

Several theories have been put forward to explain the
causes of migration in birds.

A few important theories are following:

(a) Environmental Stimuli:

External ecological stimuli such as growing scarcity of food,

decrease of day-length, or sun glare, increased cold and
stormy weather, increase of atmospheric pressure, etc., are
found to excite birds to migrate to the better suited places.
The heat glare and drought also provoke migration among
birds.

Migrations are obviously correlated with the seasons and

changes in day-length certainly play a central part in
initiating migration. It was first shown by Rowan in 1925
that juncos (Junco) or crows submitted to artificially
increased day-length in winter show precocious migratory
movements if released. The longer days also caused growth
of the gonads, which regress in autumn.

The increase of food availability in spring and its decrease

in autumn may be the actual triggers to the migration
change.

(b) Gonadial Stimuli:

It has been suggested that the ripening of sex organs in

birds causes a physiological change which leads to an
impulse for migration and the bird is evoked to leave its
winter quarters and reach the summer breeding grounds.
According to Rowan (1925), the spring migration is
stimulated by the hormones secreted by gonads (i.e.,
testes and ovaries) of birds and reduction of sex hormones
produces the autumn migration.
Later work has shown that this is only partly true and that
other endocrine influences are also at work. Many
nocturnal migrants make characteristic calls while in flight
and these noises overhead may stimulate birds on the
ground to join in the movement.

(c) Thyroid Hypothesis:

According to this hypothesis certain thyroid hormones

produce certain necessary changes in the metabolism of
migratory birds during the time of migrations and these
changes compel the bird to migrate.

(d) Antipituitary Hormone:

The antipituitary hormone is found to regulate the

migration and instinct to migrate.

(e) Metabolic Hypothesis:

Experimentally produced artificial prolonged day length in

several migrant species can produce hyperphagia,
increased body weight, deposition of fat and restlessness
even in late autumn. Non-migrants showed no such effects.
The temporal programme of migration is an inherited
species-specific character.

The pattern of migration of many species must have been

evolved quite recently. At the end of last glaciation 18,000
years ago there can have been hardly any breeding
territories north of Mediterranean. The maximum of
northern breeding was probably about 5,000 years ago and
human clearance has probably reduced it by more than half
However, swallows (Hirundo), house martins (Delichon)
and swifts (Apus) have taken advantage of human
habitation.

Danger of Migration in birds

Migration is expensive in terms of food and energy
requirements and it is dangerous in terms of risk of
predation and exposure to climatic factors. Every year,
hundreds of millions of migratory birds never reach their
destination. The following factors create great problem to
the migratory birds- cold weathers, snowstorms,
hurricanes, shortage of food, strong current of wind, fog,
man-made lighthouses, mountains, big buildings, television
towers, ceilometer beams at the airports, etc.

Facts of Migration
Features of Migratory Birds
Birds can fly up to 16,000 miles during migration, and some
can travel up to 533 hours at 30 mph. With this speed, they
can reach in 533 hours whereas if they fly on the Basis of 8
hours per day, they can reach the final destination in 66 days.
Birds have inherited behavioral and physiological traits that
are appropriate for their migratory lifestyle, and they often
stick to the same routes.
Birds migrate for better conditions, such as to find the best
ecological conditions and habitats for feeding, breeding, and
raising their young.
Migration can be dangerous, as it involves challenging
journeys that can be negatively affected by weather,
predators, and human interference.
Food availability is the primary driver of migration. Young
birds tend to stay in suitable places as long as food is
available, but once food becomes scarce, they start to
search for the next best spot.
Birds can travel up to 533 hours at 30 mph to reach their
destination. Some birds would need 66 days to travel 8
hours daily to reach their migration goal
Hummingbirds are the smallest birds that migrate, often
traveling alone up to 500 miles.
Airline passengers aren't the world's only high-altitude
travellers: Bar-headed Geese have been observed migrating
at elevations topping 23,000 feet in the Himalayas.
Many migratory birds, but not all, fly at night, navigating in
the dark.
Migratory birds can remember and return to the exact
location where they were born.
Migratory birds travel at the same speeds we usually do
while driving.
The Arctic Tern can fly more than 49,700 miles each year,
racking up more miles than any other migratory bird.
These birds are known to have good morphology as well as
physiology because of which they can cover long distances by
flying fast and observing various other things.
They have the ability to navigate things with good accuracy.
They use the sun, the stars, the Earth's magnetism, etc.
They know when to migrate and when to return. For their
specific reasons, they do not hesitate to migrate to far
present locations.
They fly at different speeds and at different altitudes. Some
fly at low altitudes where we can see them whereas some
birds fly at high altitudes as well such as Songbirds who travel
at 500 to 2000 feet whereas if we talk about Geese or
Vultures, they used to fly at 29,000 to 37,000 feet altitudes.
Before migration, they prepare themselves for the journey by
increasing their body weight or by keeping food reserves.
Different birds migrate at different timings but most of the
birds prefer to fly at night because usually, the night is much
safer for them due to fewer predators or having cooler air at
night with which they can fly and rest easily.
They also prepare for their return as well because, after
exhaustion of their whole energy in the long-distance
journey, they usually feel hungry and require food and water.

Bibliography
Allaboutbirds.org
Notesonzoology.com
Wikipedia.org
Abcdbirds.org