Arctic Tern migration revealed

The migration route taken by Arctic Terns through the Atlantic Ocean has been revealed for the first time thanks to small tracking devices that were attached to several birds.

Researchers from Greenland, Denmark, the United States, Great Britain, and Iceland have successfully mapped the incredible migratory movements of the Arctic Tern. They attached small geolocation devices, weighing 1.4 g, to the legs of 11 Arctic Terns at breeding colonies in Greenland and Iceland and then retrieved them when the birds returned after their migration down to the southern hemisphere.


The migration routes of the Arctic Tern, southbound migration
(yellow line) and northbound (white line). The fuel stop in the North
Atlantic is the small circle, and the wintering sites at Antarctica are
the large circle. Areas particular rich in biological productivity are
indicated by yellow and green colours. Image: Greenland Institute of
Natural Resources

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