Avian Migration: The Ultimate Red-Eye Flight Birds that migrate
at night enter a state of sleepless mania and gorge on foods by
day, behaviors mediated by their biological clocks Why Fly by
Night? Why do so many species of diurnal birds migrate at night?
Humans, another typically day-active species, take red-eye
flights because they offer certain advantages. Red-eye tickets
are cheaper, the crowds are smaller and the flight schedule
allows the maximal amount of time spent at a destination. A
recent study by Guy Beauchamp at University of Montreal compared
diurnal and nocturnal migration in all North American bird
species to identify factors associated with daily migration. The
results suggest that daytime travel is beneficial for highly
social species that travel in large flocks and rely on visual
cues to stick together. Advantages proposed for nocturnal
migration include predator avoidance, minimized thermal stress,
reduced evaporative water loss and lower energetic costs due to
decreased air turbulence. The