Quick answer: Well-known examples of migratory animals include the Arctic tern, humpback and gray whales, monarch butterflies, wildebeest, caribou, salmon, leatherback sea turtles and the bar-tailed godwit. Animals migrate to follow food, find safe places to breed and escape harsh seasons. The record holder, the Arctic tern, flies roughly 70,000 km in a single year.
Migration is a regular, round-trip journey that animals make between two or more places, usually in step with the seasons. It is different from simply wandering or dispersing: migrating animals return, often to the exact same area, year after year. For the science of how they find their way, see why do animals migrate and how do they navigate.
15 examples of migratory animals
Birds
- Arctic tern: the longest migration of any animal. Terns breed in the Arctic and spend the northern winter near Antarctica. Birds tracked from Greenland flew about 70,000 km in a year, zigzagging to follow good winds.
- Bar-tailed godwit: the longest nonstop flight. Godwits fly from Alaska to New Zealand without stopping to eat or rest. A tagged bird set a record in 2022 of more than 13,000 km in about 11 days.
- Ruby-throated hummingbird. This bird weighs about as much as a paper clip, yet many cross the Gulf of Mexico nonstop, around 800 km, each spring and autumn.
- Emperor penguin. Emperors walk across the sea ice, often 50 to 120 km, to reach their breeding colonies in the Antarctic winter.
Mammals
- Humpback whale. Humpbacks feed in cold polar waters and travel to warm tropical waters to give birth, with some populations swimming around 8,000 km each way.
- Gray whale. Gray whales travel between feeding grounds in the Arctic and calving lagoons in Mexico, a round trip of roughly 16,000 to 20,000 km.
- Wildebeest. In East Africa’s Great Migration, more than a million wildebeest, along with zebras and gazelles, move in a loop between Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Maasai Mara, following the rains and fresh grass.
- Caribou (reindeer). Caribou herds in Alaska and Canada make some of the longest land migrations on Earth, moving hundreds of kilometers between winter ranges and summer calving grounds.
- Bats. Some bats migrate too. Straw-colored fruit bats gather by the millions in Zambia’s Kasanka National Park each year to feed on ripening fruit.
Fish and sea life
- Salmon. Pacific and Atlantic salmon hatch in rivers, grow up at sea, then swim back upstream, often to the stream where they were born, using their sense of smell to find it.
- European eel. Eels live in European rivers for years, then swim thousands of kilometers to the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic to spawn.
- Leatherback sea turtle. Leatherbacks cross whole oceans between nesting beaches and feeding areas. One turtle tracked from Indonesia to the US coast swam more than 20,000 km.
- Zooplankton. The biggest migration by numbers happens every day: tiny ocean animals rise toward the surface at night to feed and sink into the dark depths by day to avoid predators.
Insects and crabs
- Monarch butterfly. Monarchs from eastern North America fly up to about 4,800 km to forests in central Mexico. No single butterfly makes the whole round trip. It takes several generations.
- Christmas Island red crab. Each year tens of millions of red crabs march from the forest to the sea to release their eggs, and roads on the island are closed to protect them.
Migratory animals at a glance
| Animal | Type | Approximate distance | Main reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arctic tern | Bird | About 70,000 km a year | Follow summer and food at both poles |
| Bar-tailed godwit | Bird | 11,000β13,000+ km nonstop | Move between breeding and wintering grounds |
| Gray whale | Mammal | 16,000β20,000 km round trip | Feed in the Arctic, give birth in warm lagoons |
| Humpback whale | Mammal | Up to about 8,000 km each way | Feed in polar seas, breed in the tropics |
| Leatherback turtle | Reptile | Thousands of km, one tracked over 20,000 km | Reach feeding areas and nesting beaches |
| Monarch butterfly | Insect | Up to about 4,800 km | Escape winter cold |
| Wildebeest | Mammal | A loop of several hundred km | Follow rain and fresh grass |
Why do animals migrate?
- Food: moving to where food is plentiful in each season.
- Breeding: reaching safe places to lay eggs or give birth, often with fewer predators.
- Climate: escaping cold winters, dry seasons or extreme heat.
- Water: following rains and rivers in dry regions.
Frequently asked questions
Which animal has the longest migration?
The Arctic tern, which travels roughly 70,000 km a year between the Arctic and the Antarctic. For the longest nonstop flight, the record belongs to the bar-tailed godwit.
Which land animal migrates the farthest?
Caribou and some other hoofed animals, such as wildebeest and Mongolian gazelles, make the longest regular migrations on land.
Do insects migrate?
Yes. Monarch butterflies are the best-known example, and some dragonflies, such as the globe skimmer, cross entire oceans over several generations.
How do migrating animals find their way?
They use a mix of cues, including the Sun and stars, Earth’s magnetic field, landmarks and smell. Read the full explanation.
Related articles
- Why do animals migrate? How they navigate so far
- Animal facts: 15 surprising truths about wildlife
- 13 animal facts that sound fake but are true
- Why do animals yawn?
Sources
- Egevang, C. et al. (2010). “Tracking of Arctic terns Sterna paradisaea reveals longest animal migration.” PNAS.
- Gill, R. E. et al. (2009). “Extreme endurance flights by landbirds crossing the Pacific Ocean.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
- Benson, S. R. et al. (2011). “Large-scale movements and high-use areas of western Pacific leatherback turtles.” Ecosphere.
- NOAA Fisheries: gray whale and humpback whale species pages.
- U.S. Forest Service: “Monarch Butterfly Migration and Overwintering”.