Which bird holds the record for the longest nonstop flight, flying from Alaska to Tasmania?

The bar-tailed godwit holds the record for the longest nonstop flight by a bird, flying from Alaska to Tasmania.

Before leaving Alaska, these shorebirds build large fat reserves and undergo physiological changes that support an exceptionally long flight. They then head southwest across the Pacific, reaching Tasmania without stopping to feed, drink, or rest.

A satellite-tracked juvenile known as 4BBRW completed a flight of about 13,560 kilometres in 11 days in 2022. Earlier tracking had already shown that the species could fly more than 11,000 kilometres nonstop from Alaska to New Zealand. The birds benefit from favourable winds and a streamlined body.

Bar-tailed godwits feed in Arctic wetlands during the breeding season and use coastal mudflats elsewhere in the year. They are often confused with black-tailed godwits, but the bar-tailed species has a barred tail and undertail pattern. Its extraordinary flight is one stage in a wider annual migration between northern tundra and Australasian coasts.