Turkish scientists are stunned by the lengthy journey of a bird tagged with a GPS tracking device in 2020.

Over the last two years, a pallid harrier made an incredible journey of some 29,000 kilometers (18,020 miles) from Central Asia all the way to Africa, all as part of its regular migratory flight path. Its odyssey spanning 13 countries was detected by a GPS tracker attached by Turkish scientists in the eastern province of Iğdır.

The bird specimen was caught as part of bird-ringing research done in collaboration between Istanbul’s Koç University and the U.S. University of Utah as well the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks in Iğdır and the Kuzeydoğa Association.

Once a GPS tracker was attached to a leg of the pallid harrier, it was released back into nature and its lengthy migration pattern was tracked by officials. Upon its release, the predatory bird flew over Armenia, Georgia and Russia and spent the summer in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, which is its natural breeding ground. With summer ending, the bird flew over Turkish territories within a single day and crossed into Syria, where it spent a month. Next the bird winged it to the West African nation of Nigeria, and flew across several countries in both the Middle East and Africa, including Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Sudan, Chad and Cameroon. The bird of prey spent the whole winter of 2022 in Dusuman, Nigeria, then set off northwards once again. It is currently flying over Egypt and is expected to eventually make its way back to Kazakhstan.

According to data from its GPS tracker, it has covered a length of some 29,000 kilometers during the course of its two-year-long migration, boasting a top flight altitude of 3,011 meters (9,878 feet), with an average speed of 86 kph (53 mph).