How Long Can Swallows Fly Without Stopping?

While a few hours of travel is quite boring for us humans, hundreds of times this time is considered normal when it comes to birds. However, there is one species of bird that The time it stays in the air is enough to make you say no more.

Alright How long can a bird fly without taking a break?

In the 1970s, scientists suggested that swallows could fly through the air for quite a long time without taking a break.

Although this theory was not confirmed until 2016, a team from Lund University in Sweden, He decided to put 13 adult swallows under the microscope. The researchers used data loggers with accelerometers to record flight activity and light level sensors for location detection.

These birds, which have been monitored for several years, during the winter months He migrated from Sweden to the south of the Sahara. The results obtained almost confirmed the theories.

3 of the 13 swallows were on land to breed for only 2 months of the year. It continued to soar in the sky for the remaining 10 months.

The average of these birds 40 grams 10 months in the air was a tremendous feat for them, considering that

When the researchers wanted to look at the differences between these 3 birds and the other 10, they came across a surprising result. Swallows make short-term flights and spend time on land as well as in the air. There was no change in wing feathers.

However, those who continued to fly for 10 months His feathers had fallen out and new ones had grown. According to scientists, whether or not creatures underwent a feather change was directly proportional to their flight time.

So how do these swallows manage to stay in the air for so long?

After all, physical activities require a certain amount of energy, but swallows have an adaptation to expend less energy during long flights. Also with their streamlined body shapes long and narrow wings It also enables these performances.

“Do these creatures never sleep?” If you say, the answer to this question is still unclear. Scientists estimate that swallows can currently sleep while floating in the air, just like frigate birds.

But there is one thing for sure: Flying non-stop for 10 monthswhich is no easy feat.

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