For 20 years, a magnificent steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) was tracked by GPS on its incredible migratory journey—from Russia to Saudi Arabia, where it ended its life in the Valle del Niño. During this time, it crossed deserts, mountains, and endless borders… but the most impressive detail was the route it chose to take.?….Even though it had shorter sea options, the eagle systematically avoided flying over large bodies of water. The reason? Unlike oceanic birds like albatrosses, it depends on thermals—currents of warm air rising from the ground—to glide efficiently and conserve energy.
Over the ocean, these thermals are virtually non-existent, making flight much more risky and tiring. Therefore, the choice to always follow dry land, even for much longer journeys, was a vital adaptive decision.
This trajectory was not mere random instinct: it was the fruit of a refined evolutionary intelligence, where physiology, instinct, and geography combine perfectly. 