Where we are in the world
As we learned in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, African swallows do not migrate but European swallows do (note: the movie is apparently referring to “South African swallows” which correctly do not migrate up to Europe 🙂 ). European swallows and other European birds travel vast distances from Europe both throughout Africa and across the Atlantic Ocean throughout the year in search of food.
See the interactive Google Map at the bottom of the post!
Three key facts about this map
There is a funneling of routes across the Mediterranean because birds typically search for “thermals”
Thermals are columns of hot air that form over land, not over large bodies of water, that birds use to efficiently migrate over long distances. This is why many European birds species funnel over the land “choke points” in the Mediterranean region, including:
- Across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco
- Through Southern Italy & Malta across to Tunisia/Libya
- Across the Greek islands (such as Crete) to Libya/Egypt
- Through Turkey across the Bosporus Strait, though Israel and into Egypt
Malta is a popular stopover for 170 species of migrating birds, but is also the scene of large illegal poaching operations
Malta is situated as an ideal stopover in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea for birds travelling between Europe and Africa. Poaching has become a major issue in the country and has seen more than 200,000 birds killed or captured each year. Malta is part of the EU which has restrictions against trapping or killing protected species, but a legal loophole called derogation has been exploited claiming that bird trapping is a traditional practice in the country.
Manx Shearwater birds travel nearly 12,000 miles each year from the UK to South America and back again
These birds travel great distances each year, spending their summers in Europe and winters off the coast of Brazil and Argentina. In 1957, one Manx Shearwater bird was tracked over the course of 50 years and found to have flown more than 5 million miles throughout its lifetime. These birds, along with other seabirds, are able to control their heart rates over these long distances by flying in tailwinds where their distance nearly doubles.
Additional links and sources
- Information on migratory patterns of several birds (link)
- The non-migratory patterns of the South African cliff swallow (link)
- Background on the bird poaching issue in Malta (link)
See other places around the world Globe Charting has featured!
