Songbirds Migrate Across the Gulf of Mexico
4/26/20262 min
In spring, millions of songbirds — like the Orchard Oriole — migrate north across the Gulf of Mexico, from the Yucatan to the southeastern U.S. When birds encounter storms or headwinds, many may die. Why risk such an end, when they could migrate north along the length of Mexico? It's likely that many birds evolved to take the potentially perilous trans-Gulf route because it is direct and considerably faster, putting the birds on the best breeding territories more quickly.
¡Escuche este episodio en español!
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks.
BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMary McCann· Host0:01
[music] This is BirdNote. [waves] In spring, millions of songbirds migrate north across the Gulf of Mexico from the Yucatan to the southeastern U.S. One author describes this crossing as one of the greatest crapshoots in bird migration. When the weather is fair and tailwinds strong, the flight, while metabolically taxing, is completed quite handily. But when birds encounter rainstorms or headwinds, they struggle mightily, and many may die. [rain] After fighting sustained bad weather, birds reaching the U.S. coast are exhausted and famished. They drop into the nearest shrubs and trees by the thousands. Picture a shrub loaded with colorful tanagers and orioles, such as these orchard orioles. [orchard orioles] Or a tree full of brilliant warblers. These are Tennessee warblers. [Tennessee warblers] But why risk exhaustion or a watery demise when birds could instead migrate north along the length of Mexico? [Tennessee warblers] It's likely that many birds evolved to take the potentially perilous trans-Gulf route because it is direct and considerably faster. The trans-Gulf flight saves nearly a week of travel time, putting birds on the best breeding