Speedy birds track down remote desert rain
Submitted by Chickowee on 17 Oct 2014.
Satellite tracking of Australian banded stilts reveals they fly massive distances at fast speeds after 'sniffing out' inland desert lakes, making them one of the fastest of the nomadic water birds.
The birds travel vast distances to capitalise on the short-lived food supplies and breeding opportunities provided by inland salt lakes, says Reece Pedler of Deakin University, who is studying the bird's movements as part of his PhD.
"They are nomadic species that go where the going's good," says Pedler.
