PlayInfoBox

Home /Education /Bird and Animal Migration Explained

Bird and Animal Migration Explained

Tap a topic to see more detail.

Why Animals Migrate

Most migration is driven by the need to find better access to food, more favorable breeding conditions, or a more hospitable climate as seasons change, with animals traveling to wherever resources are currently most abundant.

The Arctic Tern's Record-Breaking Journey

The Arctic tern holds the record for the longest known migration of any animal, traveling an estimated round-trip distance of roughly 70,000 kilometers (about 44,000 miles) annually between the Arctic and Antarctic.

The Monarch Butterfly's Multi-Generational Migration

Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles between North America and Mexico, but remarkably, no single butterfly completes the entire round trip β€” the journey instead spans multiple successive generations.

The Great Wildebeest Migration

Over a million wildebeest, along with large numbers of zebras and gazelles, migrate in a continuous circular route across the Serengeti and Maasai Mara ecosystems in East Africa each year, following seasonal rainfall patterns.

Salmon Migration Upstream

Many salmon species famously migrate from the ocean back to the specific freshwater stream where they were born in order to spawn, navigating primarily using their highly sensitive sense of smell to recognize their home stream's unique chemical signature.

A behavior refined over millions of years

Animal migration patterns have generally developed and been refined over an extremely long evolutionary timescale, which is part of why disruptions to traditional migration routes and timing β€” whether from climate change, habitat loss, or human development β€” can have such significant and sometimes irreversible impacts on migratory species.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do young animals know where to migrate if they've never made the journey before?

In some species, migratory routes and instincts appear to be largely genetically inherited, allowing young animals to navigate accurately even on their very first journey without any prior experience or guidance from older individuals.

Do all animals in a migratory species always migrate?

Not necessarily β€” in many migratory species, some individual populations remain resident year-round in a stable location rather than migrating, particularly if local conditions and food availability remain consistently favorable throughout the year.