Readers with good memories may recall that Robert Gill of the US Geological Survey is something of an expert on the bar-tailed godwit.

In 2005 he was in the news for finding that this bird held the record for the longest non-stop flight. New Scientist noted at the time that the godwit flew at least 8,000 kilometres non-stop when migrating from Alaska to Australia, but Gill believed that they might make their entire 11,000 km return trip in one go.

In 2007 he confirmed this using satellite tags. “It’s official – the godwit makes the longest non-stop migratory flight in the world,” said the BBC.

Now this research has been published, in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

“These extraordinary non-stop flights establish new extremes for avian flight performance, have profound implications for understanding the physiological capabilities of vertebrates and how birds navigate, and challenge current physiological paradigms on topics such as sleep, dehydration and phenotypic flexibility,” Gill and colleagues write.

“… We propose that this transoceanic route may function as an ecological corridor rather than a barrier, providing a windassisted passage relatively free of pathogens and predators.”

More coverage

Birds Fly More Than 7,000 Miles Nonstop, Study Shows – Washington Post

Wading bird travels 7,000 miles nonstop to break flying record – Guardian

Headline watch

Good godwit! Wading bird flys nonstop for eight days to set new record – Daily Mail

Image: Robert Gill