The bar headed goose flies over the mighty Himalayas – a feat that even the South-West Monsoon winds cannot achieve.
The Siberian crane does the same.
Migrating birds are every ornithologist’s special interest.
Today, we bring you some amazing online atlases that show the path and other details of migratory birds around the world.
The American Hemisphere
This atlas, released this week, is the most recent addition to online migratory bird atlases.
It is backed by 11 prominent organisations and is the result of years of hard work.
There is a lot that one can do with this atlas. We can, at the very least:
A. See the migratory pattern of birds with seasons and paths.
B. See how 2 areas are connected by species of birds.
C. Understand the conservation challenges of areas and related to birds.
D. See the source of each data and link back to it!
Europe
In Europe, we have this online atlas.
This, for instance, is the migration map of the Tundra swan:
India
India’s migration atlas is here.
The Migration Map is dynamic and covers more areas than any of the other two atlases. We were able to find migration maps covering Europe, Asia, and Africa. This is not available in any of the other two.
This map shows:
A. The area and time of migration
B. Whether it is a winter or summer migration
C. Frequency in India
So, go ahead, follow the birds on their journeys.
Here is an Urdu sher to get you started:
देख के मुल्कों की सरहदें, पंछी उड़ते रहते हैं
ईधर भी इंसान रहते हैं, उधर भी इंसान रहते हैं
The birds, on their flight paths,
are curious about international borders
It is humans this side,
And humans that side?