This tale originally appeared in The Guardian and is aspect of the Local climate Desk collaboration.

When Onon took off previously mentioned the rolling hills of the Khurkh valley in Mongolia final June, scientists had no thought if they would see him alive once again. Along with 1 oriental cuckoo and 3 other widespread cuckoos, every single equipped with a small monitoring gadget, he was about to embark on an epic journey to southern Africa.

Very last month, he was the only bird to return safely and securely with his tracker intact.

“It’s an amazingly very long migration,” states Chris Hewson, senior analysis ecologist at the British Trust for Ornithology, who stated Onon’s 26,000-kilometer round vacation was 1 of the longest journeys recorded by any land bird.

Onon has not only surprised conservationists but gripped social media across the globe. As coronavirus lockdowns introduced the earth to a virtual standstill,