000 02437nam a2200229 a 4500
001 025055
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008 221013s20212021nyca 000 u eng d
020 _a9780393882414
082 1 _a598.1568 WEI
_2
100 1 _aWeidensaul, Scott
245 1 0 _aA world on the wing :
_bthe global odyssey of migratory birds
_c/ Scott Weidensaul
260 _aNew York
_b: W. W. Norton & Company
_c, 2021
300 _a385 p.
_b: illus.
_c; 25 cm
500 _aIncludes index
520 _aAn exploration of the science and wonder of global bird migration. In the past two decades, our understanding of the navigational and physiological feats that enable birds to cross immense oceans, fly above the highest mountains, or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch has exploded. What we've learned of these key migrations - how billions of birds circumnavigate the globe, flying tens of thousands of miles between hemispheres on an annual basis - is nothing short of extraordinary. Bird migration entails almost unfathomable endurance, like a sparrow-sized sandpiper that will fly nonstop from Canada to Venezuela - the equivalent of running 126 consecutive marathons without food, water, or rest - avoiding dehydration by "drinking" moisture from its own muscles and organs, while orienting itself using the earth's magnetic field through a form of quantum entanglement that made Einstein queasy. Crossing the Pacific Ocean in nine days of nonstop flight, as some birds do, leaves little time for sleep, but migrants can put half their brains to sleep for a few seconds at a time, alternating sides - and their reaction time actually improves. These and other revelations convey both the wonder of bird migration and its global sweep, from the mudflats of the Yellow Sea in China to the remote mountains of northeastern India to the dusty hills of southern Cyprus. This breathtaking work of nature writing from Pulitzer Prize finalist Scott Weidensaul also introduces readers to those scientists, researchers, and bird lovers trying to preserve global migratory patterns in the face of climate change and other environmental challenges. Drawing on his own extensive fieldwork, in A World on the Wing Weidensaul unveils with dazzling prose the miracle of nature taking place over our heads.
546 _aEnglish
650 4 _aBird watching
650 4 _aMigratory birds
942 _cMO
999 _c265342
_d265342