Bird migration
seasonal movement of birds
Bird migration is a seasonal movement of some birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically between northern and southern regions. Migration carries inherent risks, including predation and other hazards en route.
The Arctic tern holds the long-distance migration record for birds, travelling between Arctic breeding grounds and the Antarctic each year. Some species of tubenoses, 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, including 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.
Historical views
In the Pacific, traditional land-finding techniques used by Micronesians and Polynesians suggest that bird migration was observed and interpreted for more than 3,000 years.
The public source identifies “Bird migration” as seasonal movement of birds. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Bird, migration and seasonal.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q216507. The Library of Congress control number is sh85014321. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bird migration” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.