Pacific frigates can fly for months without perching – The Costa Rica Nation

 Updated June 30, 2016 at 03:08 pm
 

Washington,

The frigates Pacific, large birds tail shaped scissors, can fly for more than two months without perching on their transoceanic migrations, a study published Thursday in the journal Science .

These enigmatic birds, as they are difficult to observe, feed on flying fish and have long wings that give them the size and exceptional ability to plan.

the frigates and take advantage of the favorable trade winds and currents winds upward in the tropical waters to fly and glide over thousands of kilometers, minimizing the beating of wings and the use of its energy.

for the study, a team of French researchers led by Henri Weimerskirch, the center of biological studies Chizé the National center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of La Rochelle, installed bookmarks frigates on the island Europe, in the Mozambique channel, one of the breeding sites of the species.

fifty birds was equipped with captors capable of measuring simultaneously and for months GPS position, altitude, heart rate and beating of wings.

the study raises however some doubts, mainly on the ability of the frigates to sleep in flight and withstand the conditions extreme inside the clouds, as well as the strategy used to avoid tropical cyclones during their wanderings.