A wading bird is believed to have set a world record for long-distance migration by flying 8,425 miles non-stop from its breeding ground in Alaska to Tasmania.
The five-month-old bar-tailed godwit, known by its satellite tag number 234684, set off on October 13. Satellite data appeared to show that it did not pause on its 11-day, one-hour journey.
The previous record was held by an adult male of the same species that flew 8,100 miles last year, beating its record of 7,456 miles the year before.
According to a Facebook post from the Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre, in Miranda, New Zealand, the old record had been “blown out of the water by this young upstart”.
According to data from the tracking project, the bird took