Breaking the world record, a bird flies 13,575 kilometres nonstop from Alaska to Australia.

A bird with a satellite tag smashed the previous record by flying over 13,575 kilometres (km) non-stop from Alaska to Australia.

The young bar-tailed godwit made the record-breaking cross-hemisphere journey by a bird on October 24 when it touched down in Tasmania, an island state of Australia, 11 days after taking off from Alaska.

A member of the same species already set the record in 2020. According to the record-keeping organisation, the bar-tailed godwit has travelled 217 miles (349 km) farther than the taxing achievement.

To put that epic travel distance into perspective, it would take two and a half journeys from New York to London, or almost one-third of the circle of the planet.

Without pausing, the long-distance travellers take off for their wintering grounds because lingering to gather their breath would signal that they are the last ones left.

Godwits cannot fish or rest on water like other migrating birds can, says experts.

‘Mutton birds and short-tailed shearwaters can land on the water and feed. A godwit is dead if it lands on water,’ said Woehler. ‘Without the webbing in its feet, it is helpless to escape. Therefore, if it exhausts itself and falls onto the ocean’s surface or is forced to land by terrible weather, that is the end,’ he said.