About this episode
How long can a bird fly without touching the earth? To find out, Swiss scientists attached sensors to Alpine Swifts. The sensors showed long periods when the swifts were gliding and not flapping their wings. Were the birds asleep? Scientists don’t know for sure. It could be that Alpine Swifts sleep during the summer breeding season — and don’t sleep at all during migration. But why do they stay aloft so long? Swifts can’t perch because they have very short legs. So if they can manage it, avoiding touching down makes perfect sense.
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.
Get every episode summarized
Each time BirdNote Daily publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from BirdNote Daily
Arctic Dispatch: Sandpipers Sing at Teshekpuk Lake
BirdNote Daily
Wilson’s Warbler near Summer’s End
BirdNote Daily
Migration: Long, Short, and In-Between
BirdNote Daily
Arctic Dispatch: Long-tailed Ducks at Teshekpuk Lake
BirdNote Daily