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A common pattern in North America is clockwise migration, where birds flying North tend to be further West, and flying South tend to shift Eastwards. Many, if not most, birds migrate in flocks. For larger birds, flying in flocks reduces the energy cost. Geese in a V formation may conserve 12–20% of the energy they would need to fly alone.
Only 10 of the tagged geese were ever recorded above this altitude, and only one exceeded 6,500 m (21,300 ft), reaching 7,290 m (23,920 ft). All but one of these high-altitude flights were recorded at night, which along with the early morning, is the most common time of day for geese migration.
Since the 1950s, increases in winter temperatures have resulted in greylag geese breeding in northern and central Europe, reducing their winter migration distances or even becoming resident. [ 15 ] [ 16 ] [ 21 ] Wintering grounds closer to home can therefore be exploited, meaning that the geese can return to set up breeding territories earlier ...
Canada geese fly in a distinctive V-shaped flight formation, with an altitude of 1 km (3,000 feet) for migration flight. The maximum flight ceiling of Canada geese is unknown, but they have been reported at 9 km (29,000 feet). [43] Flying in the V formation has been the subject of study by researchers.
Snow geese breed from late May to mid-August, but they leave their nesting areas and spend more than half the year on their migration to-and-from warmer wintering areas. During spring migration (the reverse migration), large flocks of snow geese fly very high and migrate in large numbers along narrow corridors, more than 3,000 mi (4,800 km ...
Greater white-fronted geese are 64–81 cm (25–32 in) in length, have a 130–165 cm (51–65 in) wingspan, and weigh 1.93–3.31 kg (4 lb 4 oz – 7 lb 5 oz). [4] [5] They have bright orange legs and mouse-coloured upper wing-coverts. They are smaller than greylag geese. As well as being larger than the lesser white-fronted goose, the ...
Geese flying in a V formation save energy by flying in the updraft of the wingtip vortex generated by the previous animal in the formation. Thus, the birds flying behind do not need to work as hard to achieve lift. Studies show that birds in a V formation place themselves roughly at the optimum distance predicted by simple aerodynamic theory. [101]
[2] [3] Southernmost populations are more likely to migrate, [18] with migrants reaching flight speeds of over 40 km/h. [17] In 2013, researchers identified a lesser Magellan goose in southern Brazil, redefining the northern edge of their wintering grounds. [18] Greater Magellan geese, however, do not migrate and rarely leave the Falkland Islands.