Migratory birds burn muscle but keep fat in a strange phenomenon that could have wider implications – Scotsman comment

The feats of extreme athletes regularly make the headlines as the rest of us look on in awe at what the human body can achieve when pushed to its absolute limit.

However, whatever their accomplishments, they are left in the dust by the champions of the animal kingdom’s version of the Olympics in a whole array of disciplines. Now new research has helped shed light on how migratory birds, some weighing as little as just 14 grams (half an ounce), can fly all the way from Canada to South America.

Twenty blackpoll warblers were studied in a wind tunnel as they flew for hours on end in a simulated migration, and the effects of such continuous exertion on their bodies were then measured. Strangely, the scientists found that the birds burned protein at a high rate early in their flight – so much so that their “muscles were emaciated”. And, in a significant surprise, “every bird still had plenty of fat left when it chose to end its flight”, the researchers said.

Fortunately for the birds, they were able to quickly rebuild their weakened muscles and shrunken internal organs at the end of their flight, so it appears they have evolved to cope with such exertion. This may not provide any immediate insights into human feats of endurance, but it is thought it could help improve our understanding of the metabolic processes that turn food and drink into energy.

And that is the kind of science which may sound trivial but could, one day, contribute to a breakthrough every bit as epic as the blackpoll warblers’ extraordinary journeys.