To the Antarctic or Brazil for new feathers
Not only land birds, but also some seabirds, cover enormous distances during migration: the sooty shearwater, for example, circumnavigates the earth one and a half times on its travels. Despite this, relatively little is known about the migratory behaviour of seabirds as compared with that of their land-living counterparts. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology have studied the migratory behaviour of thin-billed prions and discovered that the animals spend their moulting season in two areas that are at a considerable distance from each other. Thus, it would appear that some seabirds can be extremely flexible and change their habitat if required - a vital adaptation to the unpredictable conditions found on the high seas...