Animal field note
Chasing endless sunlight
The Bird of Two Summers
Every year, a small Arctic tern flies from one end of the Earth to the other and back again, farther than one full trip around the entire planet.
Let's look closer
Wonder traits
- Animal group
- Bird
- Diet
- Meat eater
- Habitat
- OceanIce & snow
- Abilities
- Long migration
Let's look closer
How does such a tiny bird travel so incredibly far?
rctic terns are light, strong fliers that ride ocean winds instead of fighting them, gliding for long stretches to save energy along the way. By timing the trip so it is always summer somewhere, the tern gets to see more daylight each year than any other animal on Earth. Its round-trip journey between the Arctic and Antarctic is the longest migration known in the animal kingdom.
Look for this
Explorer clue
Watch a video of Arctic terns diving for fish along a rocky, windy coastline.
Your turn to wonder
Curiosity question
If you could always chase the sunshine and never see winter, where would your journey take you?
Keep wandering
