Weather has always been hard to predict.  One of the difficulties is developing enough weather stations throughout the world to compile the data needed for accurate predictions.  Well, now scientists are starting to learn from the worlds expert travelers: birds.  In a recent study, scientists placed small GPS trackers on these long-ranged fliers allowing them to accurately calculate wind speeds wherever they flew.  The wandering albatross (one of the study species) can fly up to 16,000 kilometers – from New York to Sydney, Australia – without stopping.  Using these long flight paths, and the comparatively cheap GPS equipment needed to track the birds, scientists are getting smarter about taking advantage of the world around them.  It will be interesting to see to what degree they can employ these long-distant travelers.