Birding/Flying

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Expert: - 9/29/2005


Question
Hi Roger,

This may seem like a strange question but what determines how high a bird can fly? Is it lung size or something else. I am assuming that they can't all fly to the same height. Also, which bird has been recorded as reaching the highest altitude?

Answer
It's not a matter of how high they can fly, but how high they need to fly to travel where they are going. Birds flying over mountains have to fly higher than those going over the ocean, for example. Since it takes more energy to fly higher, birds will fly at the lowest altitude they can. The record height observed for a bird is that of Bar-headed Geese flying at about 22,000 feet over the Himalayas. For more information on wild birds, see www.ornithology.com. Roger Lederer

Birding

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Roger Lederer

Expertise

Any and all about WILD birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.

Experience

Have a PhD and over forty years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, three bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 90 countries watching birds.

Education/Credentials
PhD in Zoology/Ornithology; Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences; former Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, Chico

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