What Is Animal Migration?

What Is Animal Migration? — page 1 — Many people take trips each year in search of good weather and good food So do animals These traveling creatures are called migrants and their trips are called migrations Many animals migrate to ﬁnd food or to reproduce Others migrate to ﬁnd better weather Most kinds of migrant animals make a round trip each year Grazing animals follow seasonal changes They look for green plants to eat Some fish TIME TO TRAVEL Some kinds of penguins migrate each year to mate and reproduce 4

What Is Animal Migration? — page 2 — and sea creatures move according to the seasons for different reasons Many animals make long journeys back and forth across land and ocean or through the air Other migrations are vertical such as up or down a mountain Either way migrations are not vacations for animals They are important often life-saving journeys African elephants such as these migrate across land each year in large numbers in order to find food and water Some animals move from one place to another and stay there They do not return to the starting place Migrating animals make the return trip Can you think of animals that move only one way COMPARE AND CONTRAST 5

What Is Animal Migration? — page 3 — Perhaps the best-known migrant animals are birds More than a third of all bird species migrate Many birds migrate in large groups These include birds that usually like to live alone such as birds of prey Many flocks of birds like geese or ducks form a V shape when they migrate The V shape helps the birds save energy as they fly The birds behind the leader do not have to work as hard WINGING IT A species is a certain type or kind of animal or plant VOCABULARY Some birds like to ﬂy in a certain spot in the V shape Others take turns being the leader 6

What Is Animal Migration? — page 4 — as the leader does They are pulled along by the air flowing over the leader The birds take turns being the leader so they can all keep flying longer Small and large birds may cross as many as 1,000 miles 1,600 kilometers of land and water Some trips are even longer The arctic tern travels about 22,000 miles 35,000 km as it ﬂies between the Arctic and Antarctica Birds migrate mostly to ﬁnd places with more food or good sites where they can nest In some species male birds migrate ﬁrst to choose a nesting site In other cases males These Arctic terns ﬂy above the Arctic Ocean near Norway Arctic terns have the longest migration of any bird 7

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