Page 96 - The Miracle of Migration in Animals

THE MIRACLE OF MIGRATION IN ANIMALS

The Long Journeys of Seabirds

Living in a number of habitats ranging from polar icecaps to
tropical regions, some of these birds migrate great distances. Others
make long journeys merely to forage for food. For instance, a male al-
batross (Diomedea exulans) does a round trip of more than 15,000 kilo-
meters (9,300 miles) in search of food, while his partner is on
incubation duty. At first, you may find it hard to believe a journey of
so many thousands of kilometers, but some of the larger seabirds
travel even greater distances.
Seabirds’ migrations are usually dictated by the prevailing
winds. Most of them can be described as nomadic. Some seabirds
breed along the shores of distant continents or islands. Even those
with wide distributions commonly return to the same
general territory and colonies in which they
were hatched and grown up. 28

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