Birds are fascinating animals. Descended from dinosaurs, they have evolved over 150 million years into the approximately 10,000 unique species that exist today.

Each spring around 200 species of land birds — around five billion birds in total — travel north toward their breeding grounds. These migratory birds play a crucial part in the ecosystems they travel between, and yet aside from appreciating the majesty of a flock of geese passing over or the hypnotizing beauty of a hummingbird hovering next to a flower, we often take the important presence of birds for granted.

Today, on World Migratory Bird Day, we want to celebrate the animals whose songs bring universal joy and that play a vital part in nature.

Using information from some of our best bird books, we've created a fun infographic showing some of the most impressive migration patterns of birds around the world.

For example, did you know that some hummingbird species migrate further than geese? Or that bar-headed geese migrate over the Himalayas, reaching altitudes of over 4.5 miles (7.2 km) during their journey? Or that the longest migration on record was nearly 50,000 miles?

Impress your birdwatching friends with the fun facts in our World Migratory Bird Day infographic.

 

 

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Get the books:

 Birds: A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behavior

 Extreme Birds

 Hummingbirds