How far do migrating birds travel?
Migration usually involves latitudinal or altitudinal travel. The distance may be a few miles or thousands of miles. In mountainous areas, birds, mammals and others move just a few miles from upper zones where they breed to the foothills or plains during seasons when the weather is severe and unfavorable. Clark’s Nutcracker, for example, of the Rocky Mountains nests in the summer high in the mountains then winters in the lower forests. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird nests from the southern United States up into Canada and winters as far south as Panama. Some of these little birds fly nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico (up to 600 miles). Many flycatchers fly similar routes. Some birds, such as robins or grackles, winter in large flocks in the Gulf States. The seasonal flights of American wood warblers are spectacular. Some winter in the Gulf States and the West Indies; others fly as far south as Guyana, Brazil and Peru. Tanagers and Bobolinks migrate through the eastern United States, pas
