Shorebirds are the undisputed marathon champions among migratory birds. About 20 species of shorebirds have been recorded making nonstop flights longer than 5,000 kilometers, or 3,100 miles—about the distance from Boston to San Francisco. No other species of migratory bird has been recorded completing a nonstop flight longer than 4,000 km. The longest known shorebird flights—about 12,000 kilometers and nine days in length—belong to the Bar-tailed Godwit during its migration from Alaska to New Zealand.
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