Arctic Tern

Arctic terns are the champion of all migrating birds. They migrate the furthest south to overwinter, as far as the South Pole ice. In the spring, they return to their breeding grounds in the North Sea area or further northwards. In total, they make an annual trip of around 35,000 kilometers per year! A young Arctic tern supplied with a transmitter in Groningen in the summer of 2011 flew at least 90,000 kilometers in 273 days. If you realize that Arctic terns can reach an age of 30 years and make this trip every year, than this tern possibly flies more than 2.7 million km in its entire life. That is equivalent to approximately 3 return trips to the moon!