This creepy tale led to a big revelation in migration science.
Migrating birds employ skills far beyond human abilities. They depart on time without the use of a calendar, fly for days with few pit stops, all while enduring a 30-inch spear in their neck. Wait, what?!
In the spring of 1822, German villagers discovered a White Stork that had apparently been impaled by a large spear made of African wood. Dubbed the "pfeilstorch" (or "arrow stork"), this unfortunate bird provides some of the first concrete evidence of migration between continents.
Before satellite tracking technology, we had no clue where birds go and when. This Halloween, learn more about the pfeilstorch and how this gruesome finding changed our understanding of bird migration for years to come. | | | | |
| The pfeilstorch, or "arrow stork," was a White Stork that changed our understanding of migration. Photo: Zoologische Sammlung der Universität Rostock/Wikimedia Commons | | | | |
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