Engineers and experts use such know-how to design new planes, examine the effects of magnetic fields and develop techniques to safeguard against mishaps. However, it is not only people with special training who make use of this knowledge. Albatrosses fly on month-long journeys of 15,000 kilometers (9,300 miles) without once coming down to land. Swallows fly around the world during their migrations. Swarming locusts can cover a distance of 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles). Newly hatched eels begin a journey of 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles). Whales and many other living creatures act on the basis of this technical knowledge. Throughout their lives, these creatures— ranging in weight from 35 to 40 gm (1.2 to 1.4 ounces) in the case of the lightest, up to 130 tons for the heaviest—travel constantly. Many animals set off on journeys of different lengths for different reasons. Sometimes from one garden to another, from one nest to another, or from one continent to another. By air: bats, spiders, butterflies, ducks and geese; by land: elephants, zebras, bison, snakes, frogs and locusts; by sea: lobsters, whales, salmon, sea urchins and starfish. These migrations all create a necessary balance in the animals’ lives. The ways in which various species manage to follow their long and arduous migration routes so perfectly have interested scientists for many years and been the subject of many research projects. In their search for answers on this subject, scientists encounter a serious problem. What impels animals to leave their habitat and use up a great deal of energy and time traveling such distances?
First, in order to go from one place to another, a creature must know three things: its current location, its destination or target, and the route that it must follow to get there. In addition, migrating animals need to have sound knowledge of their current habitat’s location, since they must use this information on their return. They must also know what conditions will be awaiting them when they reach the end of migration, sometimes tens of thousands of kilometers (hundreds of miles) away. Historically, human explorers and seafarers have used the Sun and the stars to establish their location. In our day, fine measurements can be made using satellite-based technology. Migrating animals have been created to possess this technology from the moment they enter the world. They successfully complete long journeys using the special systems created for them by God, and with His inspiration. This website will demonstrate the magnificence of God’s creation in the remarkable migratory journeys that animals undertake. Once again, we can witness the endless power of our Lord. As it is revealed in the Qur’an: We will show them Our signs on the horizon and within themselves until it is clear to them that it is the truth. Is it not enough for your Lord that He is a witness of everything? What! Are they in doubt about the meeting with their Lord? What! Does He not encompass all things? (Qur’an, 41:53-54) | |||
Introduction
SUPERIOR INTELLIGENCE BEHIND MIGRATION
Perfect Timing First, a migrating creature must decide to set off to reach the right place. Next, it has to establish the most advantageous time to do this. Animals’ perfect timing varies according to the kind of journey they undertake. Moving to a new environment with no intention of returning is called one-way migration, of which the best example is the honeybee. When the bees in a colony become so numerous that the hive is overcrowded, they decide to divide the colony—usually at the end of spring or the beginning of summer. It is remarkable that these little animals can decide whether the environment they live in is no longer suitable, that they need to establish a new hive and then determine out the best season to do this in. Another miraculous aspect is that sometimes, tens of thousands of bees manage to decide without any confusion which of their members should leave the hive. For the floating larvae of many kinds of crabs and shrimps, it is problematic to form colonies in their new habitat. These little creatures live in the estuaries of bays and so, to avoid being carried out to sea, they have to keep constantly on the move. Their success in doing so lies in their ability to gauge the tides. As the water level rises, the larvae move up and down again as the tide goes out, to stay in the estuary. To perform this seemingly simple operation, the larvae need an important piece of information. The times of high and low tide are 50 minutes later every day. Although you might think that the larvae would not be able to calculate the continuously changing times for the tides, they have no difficulty in doing so. The tiny larvae, whose development is not yet complete, calculate this rhythm with great expertise.
Some scientists have determined that this timing is due to an internal clock, but they are overlooking an important point. How is it that such a dependable clock, which never stops or breaks down, has developed in animals with the ability to migrate, and manages to operate in even the smallest member of each species? Who bestowed such an ability on all these creatures? Evolutionary scientists claim that this perfect mechanism has developed over time, that is to say, living creatures have developed this skill through blind coincidence, which they refer to as the so-called evolutionary process. This claim is undoubtedly ridiculous. Naturally this skill, whose importance will be shown through various examples in this website, cannot be the product of coincidence. It is not possible for blind chance to produce any skill based on such fine calculations, and that indicates the presence of a great consciousness. It is Almighty God that creates this skill and bestows it on the creatures of His choice. God is the master of all things, from the heavens to the Earth:
Perfect Orientation Compared with most animals, humans seem to have a rather poor sense of direction. We can again take the honeybee to make a comparison. When foraging bees return to the hive, they explain to the other bees with “body language” exactly where they found the food. Following their directions, the other bees find their way to the new site as easily as if they had already been there. It is not so easy for humans to find a place they do not know, however well it is described to them. They always risk going the wrong way or getting lost. To reduce this risk, road signs are erected to show the way, streets and avenues are legibly named, and detailed maps are printed. But no migrating creature has such advantages, nor indeed has any need of them. For most migrating creatures there are no signs to show the way, there is not even another creature to give directions to the destination. Creatures Programmed to Find Their Way
- How do these animals know in which direction from their current location lie suitable habitats, breeding and feeding grounds? - The moment an animal comes into the world, how can it decide that a far-off place it has never seen is a suitable environment? - How have animals discovered that they can use the stars and the Sun to find their way? - Who teaches them how to do so, from the time they enter the world? The common answer to these questions is that animals are not capable of any of these feats on the strength of their own intelligence and knowledge. The information they possess to undertake such a journey is given them before they are born. They are programmed. In that case, who is their programmer? It is God, of course, Who knows all. Their Creator and the Creator of all things inspires these skills in them. Any efforts to explain this by the imaginary evolutionary theory are eternally doomed to failure.  Ants that use the Sun as a reference can find their way without getting lost, due to the abilities they have been given. However, the Sun moves at an angle of approximately 15 degrees an hour, which makes using it as a reference point more difficult. But on their way home, these little insects establish their current location by taking into consideration how long they’ve been outside and the angle by which the Sun’s position has changed, to find their way back to the nest without going astray. Honeybees, too, are able to know the movements of the Sun and make estimates accordingly. If these bees have found a food source in a south-easterly direction by the end of the day, in the morning before setting off again, they calculate how much the Sun has changed position and move in the correct direction toward the food source. From the moment they emerge from pupation, they need the knowledge of how to be guided by the Sun and make calculations based on the position of that moving heavenly body. Without such knowledge, they could not survive, and their species would die out. Deserts feature vast tracts of sand with no distinguishing features. The surface is so hot and dry that in most places it is impossible for weeds or scrub to grow. Consequently there are no tracks or signs for finding the way. Any rare footprints that may exist on the sand can be erased in minutes due to the wind. Scent trails are scorched and all trace of aroma evaporated from the sand by the burning heat. This difficult desert terrain is home to the desert ants (Cataglyphis), whose underground nest protects them from the lizards and birds that feed on insects. In the morning hours, when these hunters are active, the ants stay in their nests. But at noon, it grows so hot that lizards and birds retreat into the shade. This one- to two-hour period is the only time the Cataglyphis ants can safely come out to forage for food. Suddenly hundreds of them emerge from a little hole in the sand and busy themselves looking for insects that are affected by the Sun.  Each one traces a zigzag as it runs. Every second or so it stops, raises its head, makes a half turn on one leg and starts running again. As soon as it finds food, it must return to the nest before the Sun affects it.On the return journey, this ant that has been tracing a zigzag path while hunting, takes a course as straight as a ruler. It runs fast to its nest’s entrance, which can lie up to 140 meters (150 yards) away.1 This behavior is remarkable, for to be able to do so, the ant must have somehow measured and memorized each stage of its outward journey. This means that each time it raises its head and turns, it is recording its new position relative to the position of the Sun. This means that with the information it has gathered during its journey of roughly 15 minutes, it has established the exact distance and direction back to the nest. Of course this method of using the Sun to determine direction and calculate a return journey isn’t something these tiny insects have invented and applied on their own. With God’s inspiration, every member of this species, without exception, manages to perform successfully a task that many people, given the same conditions, would find impossible.  The creatures in question cannot have learned these skills over time, for many species of animal can travel unerringly towards the most suitable habitat as soon as they are born. It is remarkable, for instance, that newly-hatched sea turtles, know the way to the ocean and move towards it. The hatchlings emerge from their underground nests at night and head directly for the water to reach their feeding grounds. Not even one of them loses its way on the shore and goes in the wrong direction, because the stars and Moon make the sea more luminous than the land. Turtles are programmed to head for the brightness from birth. At the time they hatch, they have no one to teach them which way to go. Nevertheless, their highly conscious behavior clearly shows that they have been taught to do this even before birth. This is clear evidence of the Creator Who has given this talent to these newly hatched turtles.Creatures with knowledge of the world’s magnetic field Birds
 During migrations, certain animals orient themselves by determining this force and angle of inclination. For instance, to prove that birds determine the migration route by making use of the Earth’s magnetic field, scientists fit a group of migrating birds with slender rods of iron. But some of the rods were magnetized, to obscure the Earth’s magnetism. During the course of their journey, the birds carrying the magnetized rods got lost while those birds with unmagnetized bars found their way with their usual ease.2 This experiment is of great importance for understanding the exceptional abilities of migrating birds.In order to calculate direction by the world’s magnetic field, birds would need to know the formula known in physics as the Lenz’s Law, or they should possess a gaussmeter, a device for calculating the world’s magnetic field. Many humans do not even know what these terms mean and birds, of course, cannot know anything about devices or formulas for calculating a magnetic field. Their knowledge is all brought about with the inspiration of God. Turtles Experiments have also proved that migrating loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) make use of the world’s magnetic field. These creatures act as though they have prior knowledge of the intensity of the magnetic field in different parts of the world, and when they set off in the ocean they determine their direction of travel accordingly.  Kenneth J. Lohmann and his team from the University of North Carolina have studied the migratory movements of these turtles. As soon as they hatch on the eastern coast of Florida, these reptiles head for the ocean and swim straight to a large current known as the North Atlantic gyre that circles the Sargasso Sea. Turtles head to the northeast of this gyre, which tends towards Europe and then south. After spending from five to ten years in the warm and rich waters of the gyre, they return to North America to lay their eggs. Lohmann and his team wanted to observe whether or not the turtles made use of regional magnetic fields to find their migration routes, and set up their study to this end. They placed electric coils on the outside of a lab tank to create magnetic fields. 79 newly hatched turtles were fitted with bathing suits, connected to a computerized tracking system and put in the tank. The hatchlings were presented with the magnetic fields with values equivalent to the critical points of their migratory route—those in the northern Florida, off the coast of Portugal, and in the North Atlantic gyre’s southernmost edge. In each magnetic field, the turtles began to swim in the direction of their migratory path. For example, when the magnetic field of the northeastern gyre was simulated in the tank, the hatchlings headed to the south. In the real ocean, this would keep them on the right track and away from fatally cold water.3How could hatchlings that have never migrated before develop this skill? How are they able to follow the route with nothing to guide them to warm waters? How can they gauge and evaluate the magnetic fields? Who teaches them which direction is the right one to follow?
 The world is a giant magnet and, like a child’s bar magnet, it has a north and a south pole. This is a godsend for human navigators because, following the laws of magnetic attraction, the magnetized needle of a compass always points to the Earth’s magnetic north pole. Migrating animals need to be equally certain about their direction and to keep themselves on course, they too refer to the Earth’s magnetic field as well. But, despite intense research over many decades, the kind of compass these navigators use has proved elusive. Only now are we beginning to uncover some of the mysteries involved.… Turtles use these in-built miniature compasses to chart the series of migrations that make up their itinerant lives.4  But this explanation begs several questions: Where in animals are their compasses located? How do they work? Who has inserted them into each and every animal? These questions clearly expose the truth of the matter: These creatures are all equipped with these superior characteristics from the moment of their creation. There is no question of a so-called evolutionary process explained by blind coincidences. The remarkable characteristics that differentiate animals from one another show that they are created in accordance with an intricate plan, in balance and harmony with their habitat. Organization in Migration Congregating in groups for migration provides animals with great advantages. In a group movement, the amount of energy each individual requires is significantly reduced, as compared to a solo effort. In this way, groups of animals can travel greater distances using less energy. There is no disorder in the course of this common migration, as each creature carries out its function in the most appropriate way. As later examples will show, these creatures continue their journeys in total harmony, providing mutual assistance and making sacrifices for one another if need arises.  Human beings are the only beings on Earth with rational intelligence, but their interactions do not always display such harmony. In almost every community, there are people who object to the duties allotted to them, and when required to make sacrifices, express dissatisfaction and a rebellious attitude. For this reason, human communities enact various rules and laws to prevent disorder, and protect the social order. However, the animals in question have no defined rules or penalties or sanctions, yet nevertheless, they carry on with their lives, abiding in constant harmony. This is evidence that they are created to conform to collective actions and that each is inspired to act in the same way. These are all part of the evidence of creation that God has given—in the sky, on Earth and in the sea; in short, in the whole universe. People of intelligence and conscience recognize this, and their faith in God grows. The reflection of the faithful on the verses of God and their praise of God are stated in the Qur’an: Those who remember God, standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the Earth: “Our Lord, You have not created this for nothing. Glory be to You! So safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire.” (Qur’an, 3:191)
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ANIMALS MIGRATING IN THE AIR
Long Distance Travelers
In a single feeding trip, which usually takes a month, an albatross can fly 15,000 kilometers (9,300 miles) without coming down to rest. It glides smoothly over the ocean, hardly beating its wings, using the air currents created by the waves. And in terms of straight distance, no one can compete with Arctic terns, which complete a journey each year from the North Pole to Antarctica and back—a straight-line distance of about 15,000 kilometers (9,321 miles). The complete migratory round trip is almost 40,000 kilometers (24,856 miles), equivalent to the circumference of the Earth.5Their flying skills and the reduced friction in the air they move through make birds the swiftest moving creatures on the planet. The speed of the cheetah, the fastest animal on the ground over short distances, cannot exceed 80 kilometers (50 miles) an hour. The fastest fish in the sea, the sailfish, can reach 105 kilometers (65 miles) an hour over short distances. But spine-tailed swifts can fly at a speed of up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) an hour.6
You might think that such speeds would be exhausting for migrating creatures over long distances, but this is not generally the case. Coming from a very long journey overland or sea, birds sometimes show signs of fatigue, of course, but they do not experience serious problems unless they have faced adverse winds. Even small landbirds are so little affected by their journey after crossing the Gulf of Mexico at its widest point, they continue flying inland without stopping.7How and why do birds migrate? For many years, researchers have been trying to answer those questions. Although a great deal of progress has been made in this respect, the most important points are still shrouded in mystery.
With birds as with other animals, some members of the same species migrate while others lead a settled existence. For this reason, evolutionary scientists are not able to explain the roots of migration. For instance, various kinds of wood warblers and flycatchers are wholly migratory, most woodpeckers are permanent residents, but Blue Jays are partial migrant. If, as the evolutionists claim, these creatures have developed such a mechanism to survive, and their bodies have developed appropriate systems through various coincidences, why don’t all members of the same species exhibit the same behavior? How can the residential individuals ensure the survival of the species?
From the perspective of the evolutionists, this situation defies explanation. And so there is only one true explanation: God has created this characteristic in migrating creatures.
Animals in the wild are evidence of God’s power, and that He is the Almighty, Who creates incomparably. Those who persist in ignoring this evidence and who look for a creator other than God are clearly misguided. In a verse of the Qur’an, God tells of such people:
Say: “He is the All-Merciful. We believe in Him and trust in Him. You will soon know who is clearly misguided.” (Qur’an, 67:29)
How Do Birds Decide to Migrate?
Several factors prompt birds’ migrations. When one or a few of these prevail, the migration marathon begins. One of these factors is the gradual shortening of the days, since change in the length of daylight has an effect on birds’ hormonal system.  |
Wood warbler |
Proper timing is very important for the commencement of migration. In spring, if a bird postponed its preparations for migration and waited until food in the breeding ground was easily obtainable, it wouldn’t have enough time to migrate, mate, incubate the eggs and feed its young when the food supply did become plentiful. The timing of birds’ yearly migration concurs with the season when the parents will have access to the most abundant food supply for their nestlings. Similarly, if birds delay their departure from the breeding ground until chilly autumn weather drives them out, there won’t be enough time for the necessary physiological changes (such as storing energy by weight gain). This would mean extinction for the species. However, there are no mishaps, and birds somehow “choose” the right time to migrate with perfect accuracy.
Piecing together all these facts—that all these mechanisms that birds possess work perfectly; that they make the necessary preparations for migration; and that mechanisms as yet not fully understood let them find their way during migration—a finely created system clearly emerges. It is ridiculous to imagine that such a delicately planned system, so perfectly suited to the bodies of birds, could have developed as a result of coincidental mutations. Birds’ migration system points to the existence of a Creator, showing that they are created by God.
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O humanity! An example has been made, so listen to it carefully. Those whom you call upon besides God are not even able to create a single fly, even if they were to join together to do it… (Qur’an, 22:73) |
Birds’ Expertise in Estimating Altitude and Weather Forecast
Migrating animals must accurately predict the atmospheric conditions in the lands through which they pass. Australia’s bogong moth is a good example of the meteorological expertise that this requires. These moths make a journey of hundreds of kilometers to the cool Australian Alps to escape the humidity of the plains they inhabit as caterpillars. 
In spring, the bogong caterpillars feed in the grassy pastures of Queensland and New South Wales. When the weather grows warmer in summer, they pupate and emerge as little grayish-black moths. Instead of bearing the scorching summer heat, they start out on a long journey for the Australian Alps, where millions of these long-distance travelers spend the summer, congregating in rock crevices and caves and flying out only in the evening. Once they reach the mountains, they spend the summer there in a state of suspended animation, making use of the fat reserves they accumulated when they were caterpillars to stay alive.9To reach the peaks of the Alps, these little creatures must be able to predict the arrival of cold fronts, moving in a southeasterly direction, that will help carry them to their summer resting ground. Scientists believe that these insects’ ability to detect changes in barometric pressure or air ions enables them to make accurate predictions.
A similar barometric sense also exists in the ears of birds. When migrating, birds are so sensitive to even the slightest change in altitude that they can continue flying within a narrow air corridor 17 meters (56 feet) high, even if their vision of the ground is obscured by clouds. If we humans had the sensitivity of a pigeon or a duck, we could tell what floor of a building we were on by the change in air pressure.
Just as a bird uses its pressure sense for predicting altitude, it is also helpful in forecasting the weather. A sudden fall in atmospheric pressure occurs just before most winter storms, and birds perceiving this pressure drop prepare for the difficult journey ahead. A wrong guess can prove fatal for migrants. When spring comes to the Northern Hemisphere, birds get ready to migrate only when the temperature rises, the pressure falls and a southerly wind is blowing.10
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Everything in the heavens and everything on Earth glorifies God. Sovereignty and praise belong to Him. He has power over all things. (Qur’an, 64:1) The Originator of the heavens and Earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, "Be!" and it is. (Qur’an, 2:117) |
Why Do Most Birds Migrate at Night?
Birds conduct most of their activities during the day, but choose to make long journeys at night. Shorebirds and small birds like flycatchers, golden orioles, most kinds of sparrow, warblers and fieldfares are classic night migrators. At night, there is a surprising lot of activity in the sky. A telescope aimed at the sky during a full Moon observed an estimated 9,000 birds per hour passing by. These night migrations begin one hour after sunset, peak just before midnight, and fall off towards daybreak. Birds’ nocturnal migration is advantageous in a number of ways. Most importantly, in this way they can evade their enemies like hawks and falcons. A large number of migrating species are small and have weak flying capacity, so it is safer for these birds to fly in the dark. But night migration is not just for safety alone, for some coastal birds—powerful fliers that can go over the ocean non-stop for 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles)—also migrate at night.
Another reason why birds choose night for travel is that birds feeding during the day usually have a very rapid digestion. Consequently, they have to eat at short intervals, and these calories must be deposited in their body in the form of fat. Were small migrators to make long flights during the day, they would be exhausted on arriving at their destination, and since they cannot forage at night, they would have to wait until the next morning. As a result of being unable to obtain energy, many would probably be unable to survive in a cold environment. For this reason, these creatures act in a very programmed fashion, feeding by day and migrating at night, resting at sunrise and continuing on in this cycle. Although this has not been proven, one advantage of traveling at night may be the cooler air temperatures. Birds that flap their wings constantly in sunlight run the risk of overheating. Night travel prevents this danger. Moreover, the energy they expend also produces a certain amount of heat, which birds reduce by losing some water from their skin by evaporation and by panting—rapid breathing which increases the evaporation rate of water from the mouth and throat.
Along with their fat deposits, birds probably lose body water while flying non-stop. Accordingly, on night migrations they can take advantage of the cooler air to lower their body temperature and reduce water loss to a minimum, which affords them increased flying distance. Besides the species created with a suitable body structure for night migration, there are also birds suited to daytime migration, such as ducks, cranes, seagulls, pelicans, hawks and swallows. Storks and condors that glide can fly by day only, because they depend on rising heat currents or winds up the slope of mountains or hills to help them stay aloft.
Migrating birds do so as their body structures and lifestyles permit. God created these creatures equipped with the necessary skills. All the feats they accomplish are evidence of God’s existence and might, and each one of their tasks serves to exalt God, as He makes known in a verse of the Qur’an:
Don’t you see that everyone in the heavens and Earth glorifies God, as do the birds with their outspread wings? Each one knows its prayer and glorification. God knows what they do. (Qur’an, 24:41)
Advantages of High-Altitude Flight
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| Excessive overheating in the sunlight is a risk for birds that flap their wings continually throughout the day. Geese avoid this risk by traveling at night. Birds of prey that fly by day have no choice, but daytime flying is no problem for these birds because God has created them with superior features. They do not flap their wings, but glide through the air on hot thermals. |
It is not known exactly how birds determine the altitude at which they fly, but high flying does give a number of advantages. It may let them locate familiar landmarks, fly over fog or clouds, and surmount physical barriers like mountain ranges. At very high altitudes, the air is cooler and this means reducing water loss for the birds.13
Although birds gain advantages from flying high, there could be certain disadvantages. For example, concentrations of oxygen at this altitude are less than a third of what they are at sea level. However, birds do experience no difficulty because their systems are created to cope with breathing at high altitudes. Geese and other birds have very efficient forms of oxygen-carrying molecule hemoglobin in their blood to deal with this low level of oxygen and in addition, there is a high density of capillaries to transport this oxygen to their flight muscles. The “avian lung” structure unique to birds moves the air in their lungs in a single direction, meaning that the bird constantly breathes in clean air and thus can use oxygen in the atmosphere in the most efficient way.
How migrating birds manage to tolerate the cold is still unknown. At high altitudes, the temperature can fall below -50°C (-58°F), and migrating birds may have to endure these freezing conditions for a number of days.14
Every living creature is created to have enough strength to deal with the difficulties it may encounter throughout its life. Geese can fly at an altitude where there is little oxygen and sometimes at freezing temperatures thanks to the special structure of their bodies. This structure is not the product of unconscious coincidences—in short, evolution—but of God, Supreme Lord of the heavens and the Earth, Who has created them with perfect features. God knows the beginning and end of everything and has created all creatures with perfect characteristics in every respect:
The Originator of the heavens and Earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, “Be!” and it is. (Qur’an, 2:117)
 | At altitudes such as 6,000 meters (19,690 feet) where the oxygen content is half that of ground level, birds can still fly with ease, where a person who is standing still may have difficulty breathing. At altitudes above 7,000 meters (23,000 feet), a person without physical training may lapse into unconsciousness and die. However, a flock of migrating whooper swans has been observed flying at 8,230 meters (26.904 feet) above sea level. |
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At a temperature of -40°C (-40°F) at dizzying heights, a bird’s feathers provide it with thermal insulation. Also, their hollow bones compensate for changes in air pressure at high altitudes. A mountaineer climbing at 4,876 meters (16,000 feet) in the Himalayas was surprised to see a flock of geese passing noisily overhead. It is astonishing that they could vocalize under such circumstances. A person walking at such an altitude has difficulty even speaking. But at an altitude approaching 8,000 meters (26,250 feet), these birds were able to honk on the wing. |
 Some diving birds, including ducks that submerge when in danger, often travel over water by day and over land at night. Strong flyers like snow geese make the entire trip from James Bay, Canada to their wintering grounds on Louisiana Gulf coast in one continuous flight. The birds left James Bay on October 17 and arrived on the Gulf coast 60 hours later after a continuous flight of over 2,800 kilometers (1,700 miles) at an average speed of 45 kilometers (28 miles) per hour. (http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/ migratio/when.htm) |
Advantages of Flying with Fat Reserves
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Hummingbirds migrate by day and gather energy by collecting nectar from flowers. Almost unbelievably, the tiny ruby-throated hummingbird tackles the sea crossing directly. Its cruising speed is about 44 kilometers (27 miles) an hour, and if conditions are favorable, it can make the transit non-stop, in around 18 hours. (David Attenborough, The Life of Birds, p. 67) |
To be able to carry this excess load to a given altitude, a bird burns up a significant amount of fuel. When it reaches the necessary altitude, the bird’s most efficient method is to continue its journey without stopping until all its fat reserve is used up. If it lands before using this supportive energy, it may encounter serious risks. For example, it may come down some place where it can’t refuel quickly enough to continue. For this reason, it is always more advantageous to store reserve energy to complete the flight.15
Every year, migrating shorebirds set off on a flight of 12,000 kilometers (7,450 miles). Over the course of their lives, the total distance they cover on these journeys is equivalent to the distance to the Moon and back.
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Red-necked stint |
Migration begins in April and May. The birds fly non-stop for three days and nights, covering a distance of some 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) per day. At the end of this three-day flight, having used up their entire store of fat, they stop along their migration route in specific regions of countries like Japan, China and Russia to replenish their lost reserves. In the course of migration, shorebirds gain and lose weight a few times; and after flying an enormous distance of some 12,000 kilometers (7,450 miles), they arrive in Siberia at the beginning of June.
American golden plovers follow an ocean route of 3,840 kilometers (2,400 miles) from Nova Scotia to South America, flying for about 48 hours without stopping. In spite of the difficult journey, each bird uses up only four grams of body fat. The ruby-throated hummingbird weighs about four grams and uses up less than one gram of fat in its single 800 kilometers (500 miles) flight across the Gulf of Mexico.17 On close examination, these little birds reveal themselves as a miracle of creation. They make perfect journeys under conditions that no human could ever cope with. God has created birds with all these characteristics, proof of His unbounded intelligence and knowledge.
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| In a single flight, most migrating shorebirds cannot cover the great distance between their breeding grounds and the regions where they spend the winter. Smaller species, which store less fat than the largest ones need to stop to gather more food. Small birds can fly up to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) with the spare fuel. Since there are few suitable islands where they can stop off, they trace a zigzag route along the South Asian coast. But they know where they can stop and travel in the right direction. On the other hand, larger shore birds can carry enough fat for a 5,000-kilometer (3,100-mile) journey, and so can follow a more direct course. |
Finding the Shortest Migration Route
As well as a sense of direction, birds also possess navigation ability. While "sense of direction" can be defined as guessing in which direction home lies, navigation in seamanship means accurately defining one’s position on a map, to bring a ship from one place to another. As already pointed out, experiments have proven birds’ excellent navigational ability. In one such experiment, a manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) taken from its habitat on the coast of Wales and released from Boston 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) across the ocean, returned home in 12 days.18Depending on circumstances, birds use various clues in navigation. Missing one of these clues, they orient themselves by another. Birds can generally read landmarks such as coastlines, rivers and mountains. In addition, experiments have produced ample evidence of their making use of the Sun and stars. To illustrate how complex it can be to conceptualize birds’ direction-finding skill, consider the black-winged stilt.
With the arrival of spring in their winter habitat of West Africa, these birds leave for Siberia. They fly non-stop along the East Atlantic shore for a total distance of 4,300 kilometers (2,600 miles) until they reach the Dutch Wadden Sea.
The route the birds take on this journey is marked as A-B-C in the illustration on the opposite page. Without doubt, a superior characteristic enables them to find their way to such distant regions. But when we look at the route the birds follow, a much more remarkable ability is revealed. Between A and C in the drawing, two routes are indicated. You can see that the unbroken line showing the A-B-C path is shorter than the dotted line. The A-B-C line in fact shows the shortest route between A and C. We can compare this line to a line connecting two points on an orange.
The route shown by the dotted line would be followed to get from A to C using a magnetic compass. In other words, a pilot flies from town A according to the angle that the airplane’s compass shows for town C. If he keeps on without changing course, eventually he will arrive at town C. In fact, these two different routes correspond to concepts long known in seafaring. The shortest distance between two points on a sphere like Earth, as shown above, is termed "orthodrome." The journey from one point to another using a compass follows a different route, and this is termed "loxodrome." A loxodrome cuts each meridian with the same angle, and the meridians join at the poles. That is, they are not straight lines. A journey following a loxodrome is more oblique than the "straight" road and therefore takes longer.
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| Every spring, millions of shorebirds leave their wintering grounds in West Africa and fly non-stop to Europe’s East Atlantic coast—their first stop. (B) From there, they head for their breeding grounds in Siberia. (C) In the course of this flight, they follow the shortest route between two points on a sphere, known as the orthodrome. |
To the astonishment of scientists, however, when black-winged stilts migrate, they do not follow the loxodrome route that one using a compass would normally expect. They follow an orthodromic route, which is shorter and more efficient—but very difficult to determine, since it is possible to trace the shortest distance between two points on a spherical shape only when the whole of the sphere is visible. For example, while it is simple enough for us to join two points on the surface of an orange, we can’t possibly know the shortest route from where we are presently to Sydney, Australia. Similarly, however high up a bird may fly at point A, it cannot visually determine the shortest route to point C, thousands of kilometers away.
 Do they not see the birds suspended in mid-air up in the sky? Nothing holds them there except God. There are certainly signs in that for people who believe. (Qur'an, 16:79) |
The equation for finding the shortest distance between two points on a spherical surface—that is, the orthodrome route—appears on the opposite page.20
For most people, these complex mathematical formulae have no meaning. But the black-winged stilt can fly without losing its way, due to its ability to determine the route arrived at through similar calculations.
Undoubtedly it is not a result of coincidence that a bird is programmed to fly on such a calculated route. Possession of this extremely complex knowledge points not to coincidence, but to creation. In a verse of the Qur’an, God says this of those who try to prove the contrary:
[Hud said:]"… Do you argue with me regarding names which you and your forefathers invented and for which God has sent down no authority? Wait, then; I am waiting with you." (Qur’an, 7:71)
Benefits of Forming a Flock
Radar has shown that daytime migrators have more of a tendency to fly as a flock than do night migrants. This reinforces the idea that flock formation is to discourage enemies. It also shows that there is certain cooperation and communication between birds. In a verse of the Qur’an, God tells us that birds as well as people form “communities:”In species that form flocks, a special calibration that enables the younger fledglings to fly at the same time as the adults. The chicks do not have the capacity and strength to migrate as soon as they are hatched, but must soon be able to keep up with the flock. For this reason, while the young are growing, the parents molt and lose their wing feathers and thus are also unable to fly. While the young are reaching the stage where they can fly, the adults’ feathers gradually grow back. This miraculous coordination allows both parents and young to migrate at the same time.21 The perfect synchronization in physical changes in two separate generations cannot be pure coincidence. This is an example of how God the Omniscient creates a perfect harmony in living beings.There is no creature crawling on the Earth or flying creature, flying on its wings, who are not communities just like yourselves—We have not omitted anything from the Book—then they will be gathered to their Lord. (Qur’an, 6:38)
Don’t you see how He created seven heavens in layers, and placed the Moon as a light in them and made the Sun a blazing lamp? (Qur’an, 71:15-16)
Why Birds Fly in V Formations
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A similar effect to the air currents behind a bird’s wings in flight has been created in the laboratory (above). Birds migrating in a V formation are not affected by these air currents. |
When migrating birds fly in a staggered pattern, each is subjected to the same amount of air friction as its neighbor. The advantage of this method of flight stems from what pilots call the “wingtip vortex.”
An airplane’s wings provide the majority of the lift, but also cause drag. Air flowing over the top of a wing also tends to flow inward toward the fuselage, while air flowing underneath the wing tends to flow outward. Along the trailing edge of the wing, these two airflows meet and form a rotating column of air extending out from the wingtips. On humid days, cold, moist mornings or when flying through mist, this so-called wingtip vortex is visible to passengers sitting next to the wing.22 There are vortices on both sides of the wing. Higher air pressure below the wing and the lower pressure above cause this rotating column of air. The air’s natural tendency to flow from high pressure to low pressure creates airlift around the edge of the wing, and birds utilize this flow on their journeys.
As in human bicycle races, a bird that finds itself at the rear must struggle continuously against a downward current. In flying, this is the equivalent of climbing a hill. Provided that their wings do not touch, it is more advantageous for a bird to fly by positioning itself right next to another bird. This way, the bird can benefit from the maximum lift—but only with one wing. For this reason it has to keep the wing in line, close to the wing of the other bird.
Each of the birds flies in the upwash of its neighbors. This is an effect similar to flying in an upcurrent, using less lifting power.
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| The "wingtip vortex" created by airflow over a bird’s wings when it takes off can be re-created under laboratory conditions. |
The answer lies in the sacrifice any migrating bird makes for the sake of the others. Flying in a line abreast formation would not ensure an equal energy saving for each bird, since the birds in the center of the line would have twice the advantage of the birds at the tips, since they would be flying in an upwash field created by the birds on both sides. The V formation restores the balance. In a regular V formation, each bird expends the same amount of energy. If one member moves ahead of the V line, it must use more power to keep up with the flight and its speed falls until it is back in line. In this way, the formation is self-stabilizing. Even young birds new to flight adjust immediately to it.
 …There is no creature He does not hold by the forelock. My Lord is on a straight path. . . (Qur’an, 11:56) |
Birds flying in V formation make things much easier for one another. By not placing handicapped or weak birds at the fore—the only place in the V that is not advantageous—they help them get strength. The efforts of one creature to benefit another provides a clear answer to the evolutionists, who claim that animals are selfish and only interested in what benefits them as individuals. God, Creator of every animate or inanimate form of existence on Earth, has created the migratory birds and knows their every need. Birds that move with God’s inspiration show the falsehood of evolutionary claims and provide evidence of the truth of His creation.It is God Who created the seven heavens and of the Earth the same number, the Command descending down through all of them, so that you might know that God has power over all things and that God encompasses all things in His knowledge. (Qur’an, 65:12)
Why do birds, while flying on difficult journeys for thousands of kilometers, enable others to save energy? Why does each bird take its turn leading? Why doesn’t one ever create any problems or disturb the order of the flock?
Going by the evolutionists’ claims, each creature should only act to its own advantage, but this is not the case. Birds complete extremely arduous journeys with ease by helping one another. God inspires in each creature the tasks it will undertake, and it complies perfectly by submitting willingly to God’s greatness.
 | In a V formation, each bird flapping its wings creates an airflow that lifts the bird following behind. A group of geese in this formation can increase their flight range by up to 70%, using the airflow created by the flapping of their wings. Thus they can travel almost twice as far as a group than they could fly individually. |
Perfect Energy Consumption in Birds
NASA established a joint team of Boeing Co. and UCLA engineers to find a way of reducing drag and saving energy in flight by mimicking the way birds have been doing so for millions of years. If this project (Autonomous Formation Flight-AFF) succeeds, its savings will be significant. In California Edward NASA's Gerard Schkolnik, director of the Dryden Flight Research Center project, emphasized the subject’s importance, saying that the transcontinental commercial airlines could save as much as 500,000 dollars per plane annually.a
The AFF's principle is to reduce fuel consumption by using the energy advantage created by the lead bird. The trailing bird—or aircraft—flies in a position that uses the vortex created by the lead, and uses less energy by maintaining this position.
For years, scientists have known that birds flying in V formation expend less energy than birds flying solo; and thought that this formation that reduces drag could also be used successfully with aircraft. To this end a project with two F/A-18 aircraft is underway to reduce fuel consumption of the trailing aircraft by 10%, imitating the formation of migrating birds.b
a- "Technology Emerging to Save Billions in Air-Fuel Costs," David Greenberg, Los Angeles Business Journal, May 28, 2001.
b- Beth Hagenauer, "F/A-18s map wingtip vortex effects for AFF;"
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Newsroom/X-Press/stories/092801/res_aff.html
 | Jet fleets and migratory birds Jet fleets fly in V formation. There is a very important reason for this. Flying in formation, each plane causes a vortex diagonal to its wings. This means that the plane behind is subjected to less air drag and needs to use less power, resulting in a 20% saving of fuel. Surprisingly, migrating birds also have this knowledge. Geese, ducks and swans also use this V formation in flight. Each bird benefits from the field caused by the bird in front. Flying in leading position is tiring, and the birds take turns at this duty. And here is the big secret: Flight in V formation uses less fuel, a fact discovered by aerodynamic engineers. But how do migratory birds know this scientific calculation? How do they organize themselves in a disciplined fashion? How does each bird know its place in the course of flight? Why do birds make sacrifices for each other by taking turns in leading position? These questions lead us back once more to the truth of creation. God creates all species with perfect bodies and inspires them to use their features in the best way. |
Why Migrating Birds Have Long Wings
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| An individual swift is known to have lived for as long as eighteen years. In its lifetime, it must have flown some four million miles. That is the equivalent of flying to the moon and back eight times. (David Attenborough, The Life of Birds, p. 70) The albatross (Diomedea exulans), one of the birds with the greatest wing span, makes a round trip of more than 15,000 kilometers (9,300 miles) in a single foraging trip while his mate is on incubation duty. |
This shape can be observed in a number of migrating birds. For example, the black-naped oriole, which travels between Siberia and India, has pointed wings in common with the albatross, the falcon, the swift, various species of shorebird and tern, and other long-distance travelers.24
Aerodynamic Advantages of Curved Wings
There is an important reason for curvature in birds’ wings. Close observation reveals that the wings of aircraft have this same curvature. An aircraft’s wing is designed for flight and has a special shape known as an airfoil, also found in fans and propellers. Airfoils create a lifting force when subject to airflow. An airfoil has a thicker, rounded leading edge and a very fine trailing edge. Between the leading edge and the trailing edge, both the upper and lower surfaces of the wing are curved. The upper surface usually has a greater curve than the lower and, in aviation terminology, this humped surface is known as “camber.”Airfoils make use of the Bernoulli’s principle, according to which an increase in the velocity of a stream of fluid results in a decrease in pressure. As the upper surface of the wing has greater camber than the lower, the air flows faster over the wing than under it. This lowers the air pressure above the wings, and the difference in pressure between the upper and lower surfaces causes lift.25
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| The special curved shape of birds’ wings is imitated in the design of aircraft wings. Airfoil shape creates an airlift effect due to the airflow around the wings—a great supportive force during take-off for both birds and aircraft. |
Utilizing the Wind in Flight
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Birds can cover long distances using less energy by using the currents of air created when the ground surface heats up. Large birds like storks and eagles give themselves up to the warm air spirals rising from the earth and glider.(A) Seabirds like the albatross and storm petrel gain speed and then let themselves go with the air currents.(B) |
 Birds that are heavy in relation to their wing span (such as swans and ducks) must flap their wings constantly, using five times more energy than gliding birds. This technique used by large birds such as cranes and birds of prey lets them switch over at the peak from flapping their wings to gliding. Small birds like wood warblers and fieldfares fly by alternating between flapping their wings and holding them in. This lets them cover distances by dropping down and then rising again. |
For gliders like the falcon, the osprey, the eagle and the vulture, proper wind conditions are essential. For falcons that migrate along the mountains in the eastern United States, the second day after the passing of a cold front is ideal, since steady northwesterly-west winds lift the gliding birds above the mountain ridges that run north to south. At the same time, the migrating birds can also glide in the thermals that rise from different parts of the Earth’s surface. It is estimated that if a broad-winged falcon were to flap its wings in flight, it would use up its accumulated 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of pre-migratory fat in just five days. But by using a thermal’s upwardly spiraling air currents to gain altitude before gliding to the next thermal, that same fat deposit can last 20 days—enough to provide the energy needed for the journey of approximately 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) the birds make from the Neotropics.
Using the thermals that form when the ground heats up, some migrating birds travel to very distant places. Spiraling in these invisible elevators, storks, cranes and pelicans can gain enough altitude to glide hundreds of meters, hardly flapping their wings at all. Since they can usually find another thermal at the end of their glide, they can fly between continents while expending a minimum of energy.
Heated air gives off a low-frequency sound that can be perceived by migrating birds from a distance of 3 kilometers (2 miles). Although not all migrating birds make use of thermal heat, these low-frequency sounds help them in other ways, too. For example, the rhythmic sound of ocean waves can be heard even at great distances from the shore. But at a distance where all high-frequency sounds are absorbed, it becomes a low roar. At an even greater distance, these sounds become completely inaudible. If our sense of hearing were as strong as that of birds, we would be able to hear sounds from even hundreds of kilometers away. While this is impossible for us, it’s possible for birds thanks to the fact that they can hear extreme infrasound, as low as one cycle every ten seconds. At these frequencies, sound can travel almost unhindered. As well as the infrasound of the ocean, birds can perceive other distant sounds such as wind on mountain slopes and shifting desert sands. Migrating birds may be able to listen to the changing patterns of these distant sounds and use them as acoustic signposts.26
 | Pelicans migrate using rising columns of warm air known as thermals. They find these invisible elevators by the low-frequency sounds emitted by the vortices of rising air. |
Tactics on the Return Journey
Several species of migrating birds make their return journeys in the spring, but rather than using the route they followed in the autumn, this time they trace more of an ellipse. Some researchers on migration think that food supply is the basic factor for the difference between these routes. A related study found that birds unable to find nourishment when returning by the same route are unable to breed or even complete their journey. How Do Birds Find Their Way?
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How do birds find their way with no compass? Scientists have been conducting experiments trying to solve this mystery for over 50 years. In 1960, robins were put in special cages in which the direction of the magnetic north had been changed. Without hesitation, the birds moved towards the new magnetic field, as though they had a compass and knew which way was north. From this, it was concluded that unlike people who need a compass, birds can easily find their way when migrating. |
 Left: The structure of the magnetic field resembles that of a coil. Its effect is strongest at the poles and weakens towards the equator. Some birds have been found to sense this field, whose existence people have discovered only recently. But birds have perceived this effect for millions of years and can easily determine which way to go when migrating. |
However, recent radar studies have revealed that birds fly far above the clouds. From that altitude, it’s not possible to see the ground and therefore, it’s not very likely that migrating birds can judge which way to go by landmarks. Consequently, birds are thought to have some structure enabling them to react to changes in the Earth’s magnetic field, which they use to find their way. Certain cells in a bird’s brain contain magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral. In various experiments, birds fitted with small magnets showed marked loss of navigational ability, and it was understood that they were confused by the artificially created magnetic field. It is doubtless no coincidence that the brain cells contain magnetite, but an indication of a purposeful creation.
One other explanation is sense of smell. In reality birds have a less developed sense of smell than other animals. However, research in recent years has shown that some species have a more developed sense of smell, and for this reason the idea has been put forward that migrating birds find their way to their destination with the help of certain smells.
Of all possibilities, the Earth’s magnetic field is seen as the most reliable guide. Never obscured by clouds, it is ever-present at night and does not change place. Experiments reinforce the idea that the magnetic field is used in animal migration—as, for example, one conducted with pigeons.
The rock dove, the wild form of the homing pigeon, is not a great traveler and conducts its life within a small territory. However, when taken far away from home and left in a completely unknown location, these birds can find their way home.
Homing pigeons, before leaving their territory, have been observed circling above their home one final time, probably to take another look at the region’s geographical features. In an experimental trial the birds’ forward vision was restricted to one or two meters (a few yards) by the application of opaque contact lenses, yet they still managed to find their way home. For a while, it was assumed that the birds used the position of the Sun to find their way, but when released on a completely overcast winter’s day, they were still able to return home. However, when magnets were attached to their heads powerful enough to drown the world’s magnetic signals, they lost their way. From this, it was deduced that the birds were guided by the Earth’s magnetism, but it is still not fully understood how birds can perceive it. In recent years, very small particles of magnetic material have been discovered in the pigeons’ skull and neck muscles.27How birds find their way is a most remarkable mystery, on which a great deal more research will be conducted. Whatever the methods birds may use, its miraculous aspect remains unchanged.
If a bird regulates the direction it goes in according to changes in Earth’s magnetic field, some structure in its body must enable it to measure these changes. This invites certain questions. If a bird does not come into existence together with this system appropriate to its needs, have such systems developed by random mutations as the creatures evolve, as the evolutionists assert? It is implausible that any system able to perceive and interpret magnetism has been produced by genetic accident. Furthermore, this sensory system is found in animals very distant from one another on the so-called evolutionary tree, and so we would have to accept that it developed in each one as a result of separate mutations. That makes this claim even more nonsensical. A bird can’t possibly decide one day to develop a system for sensing a magnetic field and then install it in its body. Not even a person endowed with rational intelligence and knowledge can do such a thing, so it is totally beyond belief that a bird could bring off such an extraordinary feat.
The reality is, God the Omniscient has created all living things with their perfect systems. He knows from the outset what these creatures will encounter from the moment of their birth and what their needs will be, and He equips them with the organs and skills to meet all their requirements. God has also created the senses letting animals find their way—an obvious fact that we see in all migrating creatures. Nothing other than the fact of creation can account for this and other similar examples in nature.
O humanity! An example has been made, so listen to it carefully. Those whom you call upon besides God are not even able to create a single fly, even if they were to join together to do it… (Qur’an, 22:73)
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Say: "Who is the Lord of the heavens and the Earth?" Say: "God." Say: "So why have you taken protectors apart from Him who possess no power to help or harm themselves?" Say: "Are the blind and seeing equal? Or are darkness and light the same? Or have they assigned partners to God who create as He creates, so that all creating seems the same to them?" Say: "God is the Creator of everything. He is the One, the All-Conquering." (Qur’an, 13:16) |
The Long Journeys of Seabirds
Living in a number of habitats ranging from polar icecaps to tropical regions, some of these birds migrate great distances. Others make long journeys merely to forage for food. For instance, a male albatross (Diomedea exulans) does a round trip of more than 15,000 kilometers (9,300 miles) in search of food, while his partner is on incubation duty. At first, you may find it hard to believe a journey of so many thousands of kilometers, but some of the larger seabirds travel even greater distances.Seabirds’ migrations are usually dictated by the prevailing winds. Most of them can be described as nomadic. Some seabirds breed along the shores of distant continents or islands. Even those with wide distributions commonly return to the same general territory and colonies in which they were hatched and grown up.28
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...There is no creature He does not hold by the forelock. My Lord is on a straight path... (Qur’an, 11:56) |
Seabirds Migrating at the Poles
Generally, the majority of birds breeding at the poles try to stay close to their established colonies, but the frozen sea and winter darkness compel them to migrate to ice-free areas. For example, the Sabine gull (larus sabini) of the North Pole is a migrant that flies as far as South Africa and the west coast of Peru.Sterna paradisaea, the arctic tern, which has a vast breeding ground at high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, flies south to the shores of Antarctica. This species makes the longest migration, covering an astonishing 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) over a round trip between the North Sea and Antarctica.29
In so doing, it travels from summer in the north to summer in the south. The young birds and some non-breeding adults either stay in the south or linger in places with a good food supply. But at the first sign of spring, the birds that breed in northern regions must return to the Arctic Sea, or else they cannot complete the breeding cycle in time for their young to complete their feather development before winter comes.
The smallest bird living at the North Pole is the Wilson storm petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) weighing a mere 35 to 40 grams (1.2 to 1.4 ounces). This bird, which nests in clefts in the rocks, has very little time in the summer to complete its breeding cycle. In the breeding season, it migrates south and is to be found in the North Indian Ocean and the North Atlantic. The superb performance this tiny bird displays is the result of the perfect body features, created for it by God, thanks to which it can migrate very great distances.
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1. Wheatear This is one of the smallest long-distance migrators, found across Europe and much of Asia, as far north as Alaska. It goes south of the Sahara for the cold season and can cover a distance of 800 kilometers (500 miles) flying non-stop for 24 hours. 2. Arctic tern The longest-distance traveler among migratory birds covers a distance of 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) on its round trip between the North Pole and Antarctica. 3.Swainson’s Hawk This bird spends the summer in the plains of North America. It congregates in massive groups to migrate to the Argentinean pampas for the winter, traveling 6,000 to 12,000 kilometers (4,000 to 7,400 miles). Swainson’s hawk uses thermals to facilitate flight, and avoids crossing expanses of water, from which thermals rarely rise. 4.Bar-headed Goose Also known as the mountain goose, this bird flies at great altitudes and has been spotted at 9,000 meters (5.500 miles) above the Himalayas and Everest, an altitude where it is impossible for people to breathe. Thanks to this species’ very efficient form of hemoglobin, well adapted to heights, it can survive in spite of low level of oxygen. 5.Red Knot This, the greatest traveler among shorebirds, nests at the pole and wanders between its breeding grounds, wintering grounds and stop-off places. They congregate in tens of thousands to fly over the Pacific Ocean and China to Australia. 6.White Stork Leaving Europe and Asia in the months of August and September, this bird winters in the south of the Sahara, making a journey of up to 12,000 kilometers (7,400 miles). Storks fly in a broad front to find the rising air thermals. When a stork finds one of these corridors it spirals upwards, and the other storks follow. 7.Ruby-throated Hummingbird The smallest migrator, weighing only 3 grams (0.1 ounce), this bird covers more than 6,000 kilometers (4,000 miles) a year. Before setting out, it doubles in weight 6 grams (0.2 ounce), an energy reserve that allows it to cross the Gulf of Mexico without stopping. They travel 900 kilometers (560 miles) at a speed of 40 kilometers (25 mile) per hour. Their wings, beating 30 to 40 times a second, cannot be seen with the human eye, and the hummingbird's heart can beat 1,440 times a minute. It nests in Quebec and Eastern America, then mid-August to the beginning of September, it migrates over Mexico to Central America and to Panama. 8.Great Albatross The giant of the seas, this species has a wingspan of 3.60 meters (4 yards). It is a fantastic glider and flies over waves. Between its two breeding seasons it can fly around the world a few times. It leaves the nest at nine months and only comes down to build its own nest at the age of seven, spending 92% of its life above the ocean. 9.White Pelican Nesting in colonies in southeast Europe, Asia and Africa, it spends the winter in the latter two continents. With a wingspan of 3.50 meters (3.8 yards), the pelican is the largest bird that flies by flapping its wings. And it is the only species that synchronizes its wing flapping with that of other birds in the formation. 10.Slender-billed Curlew This, the most endangered species in Europe and Asia, winters in Morocco, Hungary, Romania and Greece. |
The Orientation Skills of Bats
Bats are nocturnal mammals, of which there are as many as 900 different species. They spend the winter in caves or mines, since these places supply a humid atmosphere that never falls below freezing, factors necessary for hibernation, where bats can pass the winter in a torpid state. When they awaken from hibernation, their seasonal migrations begin. To find food, bats travel many kilometers. Some species of bat weigh less than 20 grams (3/4 ounce), yet despite their small bodies, some can migrate 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers (620 to 930 miles).30
Cave-dwelling bats have a problem to deal with. Their environment of constant temperature and humidity prevents them from knowing what the weather is like outside. However, they can perceive changes in air pressure, thanks to a structure in their middle ear known as the vitali organ.
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| Some bats travel great distances to find suitable caves where they can spend the winter. |
It is not known exactly how bats navigate, but researchers believe that they use sight, as well as hearing and smell. Yet these assumptions do not completely explain the bats’ navigational abilities. They travel at night and, as is well known, make use of echolocation during flight. Their vision isn’t sufficiently developed for them to determine direction, and their echolocation is only effective up to a certain distance. The signals they emit using the tongue or larynx bounce back from objects and are perceived by the bat’s ears. A bat can understand how far away an object is, as well as its size, by the echo delay from the original sound and its frequency. For example, a bat can detect a 20 millimeter (4/5 inch) diameter sphere at five meters (16 feet) or a large rock face at 50 meters (165 feet). Bats can hunt at night and in overcast conditions, but this does not explain what helps them to find their way over long migratory distances.32
As far as we understand, a bat has inadequate eyesight, but a special system to perceive objects some meters away, make an analysis, and draw conclusions from this data. Bats also know the best places to feed and how to get to these regions. But the important question is, how do they know all these things? As is the case with all other creatures, research remains inconclusive on this point. The way animals make certain decisions for certain reasons, and their being fully equipped to implement these decisions cannot be explained by chance or other evolutionary logic. Any creature’s perfect system is evidence that it has been created—perfectly. But at the same time, it is a miracle that the animal is able to use this perfect system in a perfect way, and that a creature without a rational mind like ours can use this ability to make decisions with great expertise.
It is evident that God has created all living creatures, which explains why they have such exceptionally perfect systems and behave in such an intelligent fashion. With God’s inspiration, bats have the capacity to use echoes and can travel far to the best feeding grounds without losing their way. All other explanations are groundless. All the evidence of creation, like the miracle of migration, consists of facts that refute the evolutionary theory.
Rather We hurl the truth against falsehood and it cuts right through its brain and it vanishes clean away! Woe without end for you for what you portray! (Qur’an, 21:18)
The Direction-Finding Expertise of Butterflies
Migration of butterflies and moths may be seen insignificant, but their migrating swarms sometimes number in the millions—and under some circumstances, it takes a few generations to complete the migratory circuit. Temperate-zone butterflies tend to migrate to find feeding grounds, while tropical butterflies like the monarch migrate towards the rainy regions that suit their needs.33The average life span of temperate-zone butterflies is between three and four weeks. Yet in the course of their short lives, they sometimes travel from one country to another, and sometimes leave it to other generations to complete the intercontinental migration. Migrating flocks can consist of millions of butterflies. These lovely brightly-colored insects, each species distinguished by different wing patterns, use an interesting method to find their way on the journeys that are a natural component of their lives.
How Do Butterflies Find Their Way?
In the temperate zone, there are few areas with flowers for butterflies to feed on, so these delicate little insects must migrate to reach their best feeding grounds. They will fly in a straight line to a flowery meadow, but on arriving they change their behavior and act as though they live there. They feed from the flowers, mate, and the females lay their eggs. But their idyllic meadow life lasts only a short time. Within a few minutes or several days, the butterflies leave the field. Butterflies migrate only at the hottest times of the day and then only when the Sun is shining. When the Sun is at its brightest, they line themselves up at an angle to the horizon. As the angle of the Sun changes, they maintain the same angle to the horizon. Since this angle stays constant, the direction they’re moving in changes by approximately 15 degrees an hour. But unlike the temperate species, tropical butterflies do not change their migrational direction throughout the day.
An individual butterfly heading east in the morning will still be flying east when evening falls. At the start of the journey, it takes its direction from the Sun, but does not subsequently alter its course as the Sun’s position changes. Consequently, the butterfly must know that the Sun changes its position, and that if it changes its own course accordingly, it will arrive at the wrong place. It must also know the right and the wrong destinations for itself, and what direction will take it to the correct one. Each butterfly possesses all this knowledge, but by itself, this knowledge is not enough. Each butterfly must evaluate this in relation to its location and make a decision. Of course it is not rational to think that all of this depends on a little butterfly’s ability to judge. The reality is that God has created all the characteristics they need to carry on with their lives.
Even the most durable pocket compass loses its sensitivity over time due to electromagnetic effect. However, the direction finding ability of these little butterflies, which is such an important aspect of their lives, is not damaged by external influences and does not let them down in the midst of their journey. God has created all life forms perfectly. In a verse of the Qur’an, God reveals the following about His creation of creatures:
Our Lord’s infinite intelligence and the perfection of his creation are also evident in butterflies. To attempt to overlook or deny this fact is a waste of effort. In a verse of the Qur’an, God gives examples of such denial in the past:God created every animal from water. Some of them go on their bellies, some of them on two legs, and some on four. God creates whatever He wills. God has power over all things. (Qur’an, 24:45)
Has the news not reached you of those who did not believe before and tasted the evil consequences of what they did? They will have a painful punishment. (Qur’an, 64:5)
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Don’t you know that God is He to Whom the kingdom of the heavens and the Earth belongs and that, besides God, you have no protector and no helper? (Qur’an, 2:107) |
Migration of the Monarch that Takes Place Once Every Four Generations
In different phases of its life, the body structure of the monarch changes. At the larval, pupal and mature (or imago) stages, the butterfly shows completely different structure, size, color, habitat, behavior and biological systems. Monarchs have very interesting characteristics that set them apart from other butterfly species. In the space of a year, monarchs have four different generations. The first three generations have an average life span of five to six weeks, but the fourth generation is quite different, in that it sets off on a journey lasting about eight months and stays alive until this journey is complete.
The life of any given monarch starts when the female lays her eggs on a milkweed plant. The tiny caterpillar hatching from each egg feeds on the leaves for a time and each one quickly grows. It sheds its skin five times as it grows during the larval stage. Its skin is shed for the last time as it passes to the pupal stage and becomes a green chrysalis, which hangs on the stem of a leaf by a fine but very strong thread. Within this chrysalis, the insect continues its development before emerging in the form of a brand-new beautiful butterfly. Its wings are crumpled at first, but as hemolymph (the blood-like substance of insects) fills its body and wings, they enlarge, and the monarch is ready for flight.
The journey of migration begins from different centers in Southern Canada and continues south. One group arrives in California and another further south in Mexico. These different monarch groups meet mid-route as though they have received orders from the same headquarters and continue their migration together. The butterflies do not set off at just any time, but begin their journey at the autumn equinox. After flying for two months, they reach the warm forests in the south, where trees are covered by millions of monarch butterflies. Here the butterflies rest, taking no nourishment for four months, from December to March, surviving on the fat they have accumulated in their bodies, drinking only water.
 Monarch butterflies use their wintering grounds for years. They congregate in the wooded heights of Mexico in their millions, making the branches practically invisible. |
The newly-hatched caterpillars are the first generation of the year and will live for approximately one and a half months, after which come the second and third generations. With the arrival of the fourth generation, the journey begins again. Again, this generation will live six months longer than the others, and in this way the chain will continue.
Why is one generation in four born with the characteristic of living six months longer? Why are these particular longer-lived butterflies hatched just ahead of the winter months? Why do they begin their migration at the equinox, and how can they make this fine calculation? How does a newly emerged monarch know the way, on a route it has never flown?
The answer to all these questions is that monarch butterflies have been created in accordance with a perfect migration plan and conform to it to the last detail. If there had been the smallest flaw in this plan, from the time these insects came into being, monarchs would not have completed their migration. Winter would have killed them, and monarch butterflies would have become extinct.
Of course these insects have been created, and the incredible migration they make each year has been taught to them. The Creator and Ruler of all forms of existence, God, Lord of the Earth and the heavens, is the author of their wonderful creation.
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Above:Major trends of monarch butterfy migrations in North America. The monarchs move northward in spring and lay eggs during the journey. They travel an average of 15 kilometers (9 1/2 miles) per day. Subsequent generations make longer and faster journeys back to the south without breeding. |
Migration of the Locusts Feared by Farmers
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| A young desert locust, about to complete its transformation to the adult stage. It takes 20 minutes for the wings to firm up after opening, but the locust cannot fly for a few days. |
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| An Australian locust. Although locusts are more prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa, they inhabit in every continent except Antarctica. Locusts’ muscles are capable of 10 to 20 times as much work as those of humans, and they fly at a speed of 16-19 kilometers (10-12 miles) an hour. They can fly continuously for up to 20 hours and, on even longer journeys, use gliding as well as flapping flight. |
Locusts are remarkable not only for the destruction they inflict on regions through which they travel. Scientists are also interested in the changes they undergo before migration, and have discovered some extremely surprising information.
Locusts go through two distinct phases, as regards body structure, life style, behavior and relationship with the environment. In its so-called solitarious phase the locust feeds alone in the fields, and in the gregarious phase it collects to form part of a massive swarm that can cause massive damage to the environment.
Under normal conditions locusts are solitary, and will even distance themselves from one another when put together, but they will group together when necessitated by environmental circumstances. This begins the start of the locusts’ bodily changes. Preparing for their gregarious phase, their bodies enlarge. Their wings become transparent and strong and their color changes from yellow or green to black. So dramatic are these changes that in the past, scientists classified the locust’s solitarious and gregarious phases as two separate species. Only 60 years ago was it understood that the locust has two separate phases.
In its transition to the gregarious phase, appearance is not the locust’s only change. It also starts eating much more. A desert locust, in the gregarious phase and on the move, can consume its own weight in food everyday. When you consider the number of locusts in a large swarm, you can imagine the amount of damage they can inflict. For example, a large swarm can cover an area of approximately 1,000 square kilometers (400 square miles) at a density of 50 to 100 million insects per square meter, devouring some 80,000 tons of food a day. This quantity is sufficient to feed 40,000 people for a year! Even if a swarm of this size does not consume all the crops, the insects can cause considerable damage to the surrounding area.
In 1874, a doctor from Nebraska observed the speed and depth of a swarm covering the sky and estimated that it consisted of some 12.5 trillionlocusts. Just one of 50-odd swarms seen in Kenya in 1954 was established to contain about 10 billion locusts.34
The Crucial Factor in Locust Migration
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Radar observations have revealed that locusts do not always fly in a swarm. Solo locusts can also cover great distances, but prefer to fly at night. Above:In October 1988, the desert locust set a new record. Specimens from West Africa were collected in the West Indies, having journeyed some 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) in five days or less. (Fantastic Journeys, pp. 58-59) |
On examination, a locust’s body reveals the wonder of the creation. A large area of the locust’s integument is covered with touch-sensitive hairs and other mechanoreceptors. The hairs in the thigh region, which play an important role in inducing gregarization, are stimulated by touch.
The transition to the gregarious phase, which initiates locust migrations, occurs more often where there is an irregular distribution of food. In a region where vegetation is spotty, locusts in the area start grouping together to feed. In this way, they come into close contact with one another, and their transition to the gregarious phase begins.
Locust migration is affected by climatic conditions, the seasons and rainfall, for to breed and lay their eggs, they need to be in rainy regions. In some species, females lay their eggs immediately after it rains and the ground is soft. Some species do lay their eggs on dry ground, but the young do not emerge until it rains—a precaution that ensures a food supply for the newly-hatched locusts. Swarms of locusts move with the wind, which carries them to regions where there’s a possibility of rainfall, which will give them the opportunity to breed.
Of all the species, desert locust—found in Central and North Africa down to Tanzania, the Middle East, Pakistan and India—is the most widespread and the most destructive.
In October, 1958, one of the greatest locust plagues in recorded history took place in eastern Ethiopia. A swarm of some 40,000 million locusts covered an area of approximately 1,000 square kilometers (400 square miles) and advanced some 3,000 kilometers (2,000 miles) from hatching grounds in northern Ethiopia and Sudan. A large section crossed Somalia and died in the Indian Ocean. A small section stayed in Ethiopia and bred again.
In common with all animals, God has created the locust with all these incomparable mechanisms. With these characteristics given them by God, locusts are either solitary or gregarious as the need arises, able to migrate en masse to regions where they can continue their lives.
These insects give evidence of their creation, evident to all who examine nature thoughtfully and act according to their conscience:
Such metaphors—We devise them for humanity; but only those with knowledge understand them. God created the heavens and the Earth with truth. There is certainly a sign in that for the believers. (Qur’an, 29:43-44)
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Praise be to God, to Whom everything in the heavens and everything in the earth belongs, and praise be to Him in the Hereafter. He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware. He knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it, and what comes down from heaven and what goes up into it. And He is the Most Merciful, the Ever-Forgiving. (Qur’an, 34:1-2) |
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