Migratory Birds Trivia

Every year, without GPS or road signs, billions of birds travel thousands of miles between breeding and wintering grounds. This quiz looks at the champions of bird migration and the science behind how they find their way.

Record-Breaking Journeys

Some migrations are almost hard to believe. The Arctic tern flies from pole to pole and back each year, racking up more air miles than any other animal on Earth, while the bar-tailed godwit can cross the entire Pacific Ocean in one nonstop flight lasting over a week. Even tiny ruby-throated hummingbirds, weighing just a few grams, cross the Gulf of Mexico without a single stop.

• Canada geese fly in a V-formation to conserve energy on long trips.
• Sandhill cranes gather by the hundreds of thousands along Nebraska's Platte River each spring.
• Swainson's hawks migrate all the way from North America to Argentina.

How Birds Find Their Way

Scientists believe migratory birds navigate using a combination of cues, including the position of the sun and stars, landscape landmarks, and a sensitivity to Earth's magnetic field. Changing day length is usually the trigger that gets them moving in the first place, kicking off journeys that can span entire hemispheres.