WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Bird Migration

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh. There's Chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>Jerry's here too, sitting him for Dave. So let's go

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<v Speaker 1>with short stuff. Go go. This is something I'm surprised

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<v Speaker 1>we haven't covered uh succinctly. We may have talked about

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<v Speaker 1>it before here and there, but uh, the idea and

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<v Speaker 1>I literally thought of this because I saw a flock

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<v Speaker 1>of birds flying in that beautiful V pattern, A flock

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<v Speaker 1>of seagulls. Oh I wish, because you know they run

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<v Speaker 1>so far away, uh flying, And I was like, where

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<v Speaker 1>are those guys going and what are they doing? And

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<v Speaker 1>how do they know? It seems a little late, like

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<v Speaker 1>why are you doing it now? And how do you

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<v Speaker 1>know how to get there? It turns out we know

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<v Speaker 1>the answers to some of these questions, and we're talking

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<v Speaker 1>about bird migration. Uh. And this comes from our old

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<v Speaker 1>friends at house stuff works dot com and Aliyah Hoyt,

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<v Speaker 1>who did, I think a really great job writing a

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<v Speaker 1>very succinct article on this cool topic. You should go

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<v Speaker 1>check it out and read it there. But um, the

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<v Speaker 1>notion about birds flying south for the winter, we should

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<v Speaker 1>say right off the bat is like, that's just a

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<v Speaker 1>very um sort of lazy way of putting it, because

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<v Speaker 1>there are more than nine species of birds, and so

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<v Speaker 1>you you're just saying birds flying south. You can't just

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<v Speaker 1>say that about all birds because not all birds do

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<v Speaker 1>fly south. No, Um, they don't. But the ones that

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<v Speaker 1>do fly south are incredibly fascinating because, like you said,

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<v Speaker 1>all those questions you have, we have a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>answers to and um, the urge to migrate has a

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<v Speaker 1>name even. That's one of the things I love about

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<v Speaker 1>this chuck. There's some great terms hidden within. It is

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<v Speaker 1>a great band name too, by the way, migratory restlessness, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>photo period, those are okay, I'm gonna give them all away, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>but the the the natural urge, UM, I would guess

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<v Speaker 1>an unconscious urge too. If you're a bird, UM to

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<v Speaker 1>migraine is called my gratory restlessness. And a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>times they chalk it up to a change in the

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<v Speaker 1>length of the day, which is called the photo period.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right. I don't think we said about sevent of

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<v Speaker 1>birds do migrate, and um, it's kind of like two

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<v Speaker 1>buckets on why you would this is that first bucket,

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<v Speaker 1>which is the daylight kind of giving them a queue

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<v Speaker 1>and This means that there, um, the daylight is giving

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<v Speaker 1>them the que they're not flying south because like it's

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<v Speaker 1>getting a little bit chilly and the worms aren't quite

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<v Speaker 1>what they used to be. But it's more like, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>the the daylight is changing. That's a signal to me.

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<v Speaker 1>That means we are known as band name obligate migrants. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a good one. Pretty good. Yeah. That means that

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<v Speaker 1>nature is commanding you to go migrate. You're this isn't

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<v Speaker 1>any choice that you're making. This is just part of

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<v Speaker 1>who you are. You migrate as a member of this

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<v Speaker 1>bird species. Yes, and if you're an obligatet migrant, you

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<v Speaker 1>probably opened up for the talking heads in the eighties,

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<v Speaker 1>it would be my guess. So the good thing about

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<v Speaker 1>obligate migrants is because it's so hardwired, their behavior is

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<v Speaker 1>very predictable and easily studied. Um, Like, the the distance

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<v Speaker 1>they travel is going to be basically the same year

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<v Speaker 1>after year, generation after generation. When they go is going

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<v Speaker 1>to be about the same. When they come back, it's

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<v Speaker 1>going to be about the same. They're just extraordinarily dependable, right. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>The ones that you can't count on at all are

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<v Speaker 1>the facultative migrants. And I said it right, I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>just add an extra syllable. Yeah, not nearly as good

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<v Speaker 1>of a band name. For that reason. It's a little clunky.

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<v Speaker 1>It is ted clunky. But these are the ones that

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<v Speaker 1>migrate because they have to. They're really lazy as far

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<v Speaker 1>as migration goes. Uh yeah, I mean they're the ones

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<v Speaker 1>that take the cues around them. I kind of like

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<v Speaker 1>them because they're not like, I'm just gonna do it

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<v Speaker 1>because the daylight says so. They do it because food

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<v Speaker 1>might be getting short, or it might be getting a

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<v Speaker 1>little chilly for them or whatever. Uh um. And they

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<v Speaker 1>basically know we can't stick around here, so let's hit

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<v Speaker 1>the road, right or hit the hit the sky. They're

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<v Speaker 1>kind of like the surfers of migrating birds. That's right,

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<v Speaker 1>I like that. Should we break now? Oh yeah, jeez, alright,

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<v Speaker 1>this is the shorty of my friend. Let's get back

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<v Speaker 1>to it in a minute. Okay, Well, now we're on

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<v Speaker 1>the road, driving in your truck. Want to learn a

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<v Speaker 1>thing or two from Josh and Chuck it stuff you

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<v Speaker 1>should know. All right, Okay, Chuck, let's get back to it.

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<v Speaker 1>Answer how far do they migrate? Josh, what's the number

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<v Speaker 1>how many miles. Well, if you ask Dr Andrew Farnsworth,

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<v Speaker 1>Cornell Lab of ornithal g the metrics are all over

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<v Speaker 1>the ballpark. Exclamation point. How stuff works. Talk to Dr

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<v Speaker 1>Farnsworth and by the way, I can't say enough about

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works, chuck. So Dr Farnsworth says that depending

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<v Speaker 1>on the birds, the species. I never thought about this,

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<v Speaker 1>they may not really move anywhere as far as like

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<v Speaker 1>a human would think of it. If they live like

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<v Speaker 1>on a mountain, they are probably going to stay on

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<v Speaker 1>the mountain. They just might change altitude, like you know,

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<v Speaker 1>a few hundred meters this way, a few that way. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>it makes a huge difference depending on the season. And

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<v Speaker 1>that counts as migration. I love that one. Sure, they

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<v Speaker 1>might stay in the same region or the same area,

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<v Speaker 1>they might stay in the same state. Uh. And just

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<v Speaker 1>you know, here in Georgia you could migrate just a

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<v Speaker 1>little further south in the winter and have some very

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<v Speaker 1>nice weather. Yeah, there's a pretty big difference between North

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<v Speaker 1>Georgia and South Georgia weather wise. Yeah. Time or you

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<v Speaker 1>could really get on your horse or your wing and

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<v Speaker 1>your migration maybe like truly epic. Uh. And I guess

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<v Speaker 1>we should talk about the most epics, the Arctic Arctic.

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<v Speaker 1>That word the Arctic turn. Uh, they go from poll

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<v Speaker 1>to poll, they go from the Antarctic to the Arctic.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's the last time I have to say that.

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<v Speaker 1>And that is a round trip of close to nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>thousand miles or thirty thousand clicks? Can I say clicks? Sure? Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't know what that was bad, because do you

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<v Speaker 1>think of Vietnam. I don't know who else called it clicks.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what I associated with, but I only heard it

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<v Speaker 1>in Vietnam War movies. I didn't know if that was

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<v Speaker 1>a bad thing. Anyway. Let's just call it kilometers. And

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<v Speaker 1>that is the largest or rather the longest migration on

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<v Speaker 1>planet Earth for anything, Yeah, any animal whatsoever. It's pretty

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<v Speaker 1>pretty impressive. Um. I found one called the bar tailed Godwit.

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<v Speaker 1>They hold the record for the longest NonStop flight of

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<v Speaker 1>let's hear it. They fly NonStop over sixty hundred miles

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<v Speaker 1>from Alaska to New Zealand without rest. Wow. Can you imagine? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a real reaction. By the way, we don't Sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>we'll surprise each other with facts. Just sometimes we're being coy.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah you thought I was gonna bust out something about

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<v Speaker 1>the Black Pole War war blurs didn't. No, No, I

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<v Speaker 1>know you'd have something new for me. So that was

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<v Speaker 1>that was a real reaction everyone. I'm not that good actor,

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<v Speaker 1>that's true. Appreciate that set me up for that, Oh

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<v Speaker 1>of course I did. Um. So the destination is kind

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<v Speaker 1>of the last piece, like whether or not they migrate

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<v Speaker 1>or not, how far they migrate, and now like where

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<v Speaker 1>are they going to go? And this one is really

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<v Speaker 1>interesting because they don't know for sure and they're trying

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<v Speaker 1>to answer these questions. But there are a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>super cool ideas about it. And one really cool sort

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<v Speaker 1>of side note to this is some species of bird

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<v Speaker 1>will go to the same place every single year, just

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<v Speaker 1>like you're going on a vacation, and they'll have the

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<v Speaker 1>same rest stops every year, just like you might on

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<v Speaker 1>a vacation. Yeah, they'll actually learn landmarks to follow. And yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that's pretty cool because that means that if you see

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<v Speaker 1>some Canadian geese in your backyard one year, you're probably

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<v Speaker 1>going to see them the next year and so on

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<v Speaker 1>and so forth. That's cool. Um. They also think that

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<v Speaker 1>there's just a number of redundant systems that basically allow

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<v Speaker 1>birds to navigate. UM. One of them apparently is learning

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<v Speaker 1>how to navigate by the stars by constellations. Pretty impressive

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<v Speaker 1>for a bird. UM. They also can use the sun

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<v Speaker 1>to orient themselves. But then they have other um, they

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<v Speaker 1>believe they have other onboard equipment, like an ability to

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<v Speaker 1>see the Earth's electromagnetic field and orient themselves that way. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and you said, see like some birds may sense it,

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<v Speaker 1>but they actually think that some birds there's a theory

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<v Speaker 1>that some have a special pigment that literally lets them

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<v Speaker 1>see it. Yeah, which is wild to think about. I

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<v Speaker 1>would love to see that. I guarantee in the next

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<v Speaker 1>fifty to seventy years, we're gonna have all sorts of

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<v Speaker 1>ways to see like uv um, to see magnetic fields,

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<v Speaker 1>just to see all sorts of just to experience the

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<v Speaker 1>world in different ways that we aren't even thinking of

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<v Speaker 1>right now. Guarantee it's going to be like a huge pathtime. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>Or put on those special glasses and someone's clothes are

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<v Speaker 1>off X ray glasses. Yeah, good idea, we're gonna make

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<v Speaker 1>a million bucks off of that. Did you ever see

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<v Speaker 1>the uh Ricky Gervais show extras? Uh, there's a great

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<v Speaker 1>bit online that you should look up. Just a scene

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<v Speaker 1>with Patrick Stewart, Sir Patrick Stewart, where he's Ricky Gervais

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<v Speaker 1>goes in his trailer and this is a short one

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<v Speaker 1>so I can tell the story real quick. Uh, Ricky

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<v Speaker 1>Gervais goes in his trailer. He's an extra in movies

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<v Speaker 1>and TV shows. That's the whole premise of the show.

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<v Speaker 1>And he seeks some advice. He's like, I'm just an

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<v Speaker 1>extra and like, you know, I'm trying to write screenplays

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<v Speaker 1>and make my own way inswer Patrick's where it like

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<v Speaker 1>really bonds with him. He's like, yeah, I'm I'm writing

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<v Speaker 1>my own screenplays as well. And his big idea is

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<v Speaker 1>that he is like, uh, has superpower is that he

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<v Speaker 1>can make a woman's clothes just fallow right off their body.

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<v Speaker 1>And Ricky Gervais keeps keeps it going like and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>and then what happens and you know, and then like

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<v Speaker 1>trying to get to some further plat point, but Patrick

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<v Speaker 1>Stewart just keeps saying, and you know, there's a police officer.

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<v Speaker 1>She comes up and I just look at her and

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<v Speaker 1>her clothes just come right off and I can see everything.

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<v Speaker 1>It's hilarious. It's really funny. It's that in the Liam

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<v Speaker 1>Neeson scene from Extra Spot just classic. What's hilarious is

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<v Speaker 1>that idea is basically the basis of Zapped that Scott

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<v Speaker 1>bay Vie from the eighties. Sure. Maybe, Sir Patrick Stewart

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<v Speaker 1>wrote that maybe or is a big fan of it

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<v Speaker 1>and writed it all you never know. Uh, I think, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sensing like a bird can sense Earth's magnetic field.

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<v Speaker 1>That short stuff is apt. You're correct. Radio Stuff you

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