A domestic institute says major East Asian migratory birds fly more than 2,470 kilometers via the Korean Peninsula.

The Migratory Bird Institute, an affiliate of the Korea National Park Service, announced on Tuesday results of its study of Mongolian gulls. It confirmed by attaching rings to the birds, which left their nesting grounds in Mongolia in May of last year, were found on the South Korean island of Hongdo some seven months later. The straight line distance between the two locations is around 2,470 kilometers.

Black-browed reed warblers were also confirmed to travel more than 1,460 kilometers from Japan's Shimane Prefecture to China via the Korean Peninsula.

The institute said that the findings show that the penisula's southwestern regions are important stopovers for East Asian migratory birds, providing information potentially useful in preventing avian influenza.

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