We like to think Hamilton products are superior beasts when it comes to staying power and engineering. But we’ve got nothing on this bird.
Check out this amazing bar-tailed godwit, which just broke the world record for longest non-stop flight by a winged creature. It clocked an estimated 224 hours (that’s almost 11 days) of flight time and scaled more than 7,500 miles over open ocean from Alaska to New Zealand without stopping. That’s longer than an average plane is capable of managing.
Godwits are known for being able to take long flights. “They have an incredibly efficient fuel-to-energy rate,” said Jesse Conklin from Global Flyway Network, which tagged the godwit’s journey as part of their study of long-distance shorebird migrations. “They have a lot going for them. They are designed like a jet fighter. Long, pointed wings and a really sleek design which gives them a lot of aerodynamic potential.”
Pre-flight, these tireless titans of the sky require so much fuel for long migrations that they double their size by gorging enough to retain almost 50 percent body fat. At the same time, they’re able to shrink their internal organs to lighten their load.
Sounds like a diet we can get behind before the holidays.