Oldest [known] Wild Bird in Britain

["Andrew Stafford" <>]

Laurie Knight wrote:

ornithological researchers have found a manx shearwater that they
> believe to be fifty years old [they determined its age when it was banded
for
> the fourth time - apparently it was first banded in 1957 when it was
estimated
> to be 5 years old].  They also estimate that the bird has flown 8 million
> kilometres  during that time, clocking up 800,000 of those km on its
annual
> migration to South America.
>
> Not bad for a bird battling the elements in the wild.

Not bad for a bird battling a band either. How it never got hit by a
hailstorm in 50 years I'll never know.

Sorry all, I just couldn't resist that one ;-)

Cheers, AS



Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
"unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
to