Expert: Roger Lederer - 7/21/2007

Question
QUESTION: I've read that Robins can travel about 200 miles per day. In one flight, how far can a Robin travel before it needs to stop and start again?

ANSWER: There is no straightforward answer here. It all depends. I presume we are talking about migratory flights as they wouldn't go 200 miles a day otherwise. If they migrate from north to south, for example, for 1000 miles, they might fly 100 miles one day, 10 miles the next day, 250 the next day, 50 the next, etc. It depends on the weather, the wind, whether they have to cross a body of water, and so on. If they find a particularly nice place to stop - lots of food,for example, they might stay there a few days. I suspect a Robin could travel 300 or more miles a day before it has to stop if they are in good condition and the winds are favorable. They fly at perhaps 30 mph and if they have a 10 mph tail wind, 8 hours of flying (not a big feat) would get them 320 miles.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you. To clarify your answer, a Robin could travel straight through, approximately 300 miles (8 hours) before having to land? Am I understanding correctly that, if a Robin were travelling over a stretch of plains, and there were no trees to land on, he could stay in flight,in the air for about 8 hours, (300 miles) before he would have to stop and rest? Thanks again.

Answer
Yes, that is correct. A Robin could travel 8 hours and maybe even more before having to land. It all depends on the weather and terrain and the condition of the bird. Robins, of course, don't need trees , but they do need land - not water, to land on. Some shorebirds actually fly 3-4 days without landing when they cross large expanses of ocean.