Tracking radar studies mere carried out during the summer 1996 in the central polar basin (85-90 degrees N) to investigate if birds accomplish transpolar migration. We here report the absence of bird migration from this region, in glaring contrast to the situation in more peripheral parts of the Arctic Ocean. Two possible explanations for the absence of regular intercontinental bird migration across the region around the North Pole are considered: (i) transpolar migration is of little evolutionary advantage, and (ii) orientation difficulties prevent migration at the pole.