Migrating birds fly faster in spring, says study

Zee Media Bureau

Washington: As per a new study, migrating birds travel faster and put extra effort into staying at course in spring than in fall.

Researchers found that the birds speed up during spring because arriving late to their breeding grounds can affect their reproductive success.

Past studies have shown that migrants take shorter breaks in spring, but it is harder to tell whether they also move faster in the air.

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma in the US used high-tech weather surveillance radars and found that birds did indeed fly faster in spring and compensated more for crosswinds that could blow them off course.

(With PTI inputs)