News Animals

Frigate birds fly nonstop for months

Skill at exploiting atmospheric air flows allow long-distance treks

frigatebirds

FREQUENT FLIER  Frigate birds, even juveniles like this one, can fly for months without stopping by riding air currents over the ocean.

Aurélian Prudor/CEBC CNRS

By Laurel Hamers

Even Amelia Earhart couldn’t compete with the great frigate bird. She flew nonstop across the United States for 19 hours in 1932; the frigate bird can stay aloft up to two months without landing, a new study finds. The seabird saves energy on transoceanic treks by capitalizing on the large-scale movement patterns of the atmosphere, researchers report in the July 1 Science.