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Migrating Birds Take Hundreds of Powernaps.

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the checking-eyelids-for-leaks dept.

Ant writes "MSNBC reports that to help make up for sleep lost during marathon night flights, migratory birds take hundreds of powernaps during the day, each lasting only a few seconds, a new study suggests. Every autumn, Swainson's thrushes fly up to 3,000 miles from their breeding grounds in northern Canada and Alaska to winter in Central and South America. Come spring, the birds make the long trek back. The birds fly mostly at night and often for long hours at a time, leaving little time for sleep."

2 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. How do they avoid crashing? by giafly · · Score: 4, Interesting

    FTA, these swallows sleep for "9 seconds on average".
    If one stops flying completely for 9 seconds, the approximate distance it would fall is s = ut + 1/2at**2 ... 0+1/2*32*9*9 feet ... 1296 feet.
    But the barn swallow typically migrates within within 100 feet of the ground .
    So how do they avoid crashing?

    --
    Reduce, reuse, cycle
  2. Re:Why they sleep only a few seconds by Archibald+Buttle · · Score: 4, Interesting

    :-)

    Not all that far from the truth.

    Albatross (and related species) spend virtually their whole lives at sea, returning to land only to breed. They fish for food, but can't sleep on the sea surface because they'd get caught by preditors (some shark and whale species, sealions, etc). Their only opportunity for sleep is whilst they're flying - so they nap for a few seconds whilst they're gliding.