How High Can Birds Fly?
How High Can Birds Fly? with tags minuteearth, minute earth, minutephysics, minute physics, earth, history, science, environment, environmental science, earth science, birds, high altitude flight, rüppell's griffon vulture, aerodynamics, lift coefficient, hypothermia, oxygen use, scaling laws, square cube law, thermal, migration, bar-headed goose, wandering albatross, altitude record
In 1973, an airliner struck a bird called a Rüppell's griffon vulture – which, on its own, isn't that weird; planes hit birds pretty regularly during takeoffs and landings. But this collision happened at a cruising height of over 11,000 meters – WAY above the height at which most birds fly – which makes us wonder: what is the highest a bird can actually fly?
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
- Lift Coefficient: A dimensionless number that represents how effectively a wing generates lift based on its shape and angle. The higher the coefficient, the more lift produced.
- Square Cube Law: A principle stating that as an object increases in size, its volume grows much faster than its surface area. This affects heat loss/gain and strength, impacting flight feasibility.
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CREDITS
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Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director
Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Storyboard Artist
Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
OUR STAFF
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Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke
Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes
Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida
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REFERENCES
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Special thanks to Dr. Maria Stager and Dr. Bret Tobalkse
Tennekes, H. (2009). The Simple Science of Flight: From Insects to Jumbo Jets (revised and expanded ed.). MIT Press. ISBN: 9780262700658
Weber, R.E., Hiebl, I., & Braunitzer, G. (1988). High-altitude and hemoglobin function in the vultures Gyps rueppellii and Aegypius monachus. Biological Chemistry Hoppe-Seyler, 369(4), 233–240. PMID: 3401328
