Man has always sought to conquer the world in which he lives: to delve into the bowels of the earth, sink to the bottom of the ocean, conquer the highest mountain. We will tell who they are, these high-flying birds and how far they can go on the list of the highest flying birds in the world.
White Stork - tenth place
- Sizes: 100-125 cm
- Weight: up to 4 kg
- Wingspan: 155-200 cm
- Maximum flight height: up to 3000 m.
The white stork is a typical inhabitant of temperate latitudes. The peculiarity of these birds is a peculiar type of migration, namely, a very quick flight from nesting places to recreation places in East Africa. This is about 4.5 thousand km, which birds overcome in 18-19 days, being daily on the way for 8-10 hours. Long stops, more than a day, are done only in bad weather conditions.
Andean Condor - ninth place
- Size: 117-135 cm
- Weight: up to 18 kg
- Wingspan: 260-320 cm
- Maximum flight height: up to 4600 m.
Condor is rightfully considered a giant, as it is superior in weight and size to all birds in the Western Hemisphere. The bird is an inhabitant of the Andes mountain range. It settles mainly on open plateaus.
Condor belongs to scavengers, and is respected among birds of this type of food due to its powerful beak, it often starts the first meal. He eats for a long time, as his stomach holds up to 4 kg of food at a time.
Small godwit - eighth place
- Sizes: 37-41 cm
- Weight: 230-360 g
- Wingspan: 61-68 cm
- Maximum flight altitude: up to 6100 m.
The habitat of these birds is very large. They nest in the tundra and forest-tundra, in the territory from the Scandinavian Peninsula to Alaska, in some areas of the European part of Russia. Their wintering place was the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic coast of Africa, the Red Sea, the coast of India, Australia and New Zealand.
These birds are champions in continuous overcoming long distances. The length of the migration path of these birds exceeds 11,000 km, and the speed of its overcoming is only 7-8 days.
Mallard - seventh place
- Sizes: 57-62 cm
- Weight: 1-2 kg
- Wingspan: 80-100 cm
- Maximum flight altitude: up to 6400 m.
The most recognizable type of wild duck nests in different climatic zones: both in the Arctic latitudes and in the subtropics. Despite its clumsiness on land, it can travel long distances in the air. Even cases of collision of ducks with an airplane are known. A peculiarity of the flight of birds is the characteristic sound made by the wings of ducks, so before they see the birds in the air, hunters calculate their proximity.
Borodach - sixth place
- Sizes: 95-125 cm
- Weight: 4.5-7.5 kg
- Wingspan: 275-308 cm
- Maximum flight altitude: up to 7500 m.
This rare bird is unique in the genus hawkish. Refers to an endangered species. The attention of biologists was drawn to the method of feeding these predators.
Gray geese - fifth place
Sizes: 70-90 cm
Weight: 2.1-4.5 kg
Wingspan: 147-180 cm
Maximum flight altitude: up to 8000 m.
The habitat of geese are bodies of water with stagnant water - swamps, lakes, reservoirs.The usual flight of the gray goose is significantly different from seasonal flights. So flying low with a rare flap of the wing, during migration, birds rise to great heights and soar in the air. Despite the outward harmlessness, they desperately defend their offspring. Able to damage a small predator or hunting dog.
Whooper Swan - fourth place
- Sizes: 140-160 cm
- Weight: 7-10 kg
- Wingspan: 200-280 cm
- Maximum flight altitude: up to 8200 m.
This type of swan is quite common - it lives in the middle of Eurasia and Europe. Migration sites are the coasts of the Black, Red, Mediterranean Sea, as well as the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.
The bird got its name for loud trumpet sounds, usually made in flight. A leisurely swimming swan, with the approach of danger, is capable of developing high speed. Not every boat can catch a frightened bird.
Mountain goose - third place
- Sizes: 70-75 cm
- Weight: 2-3.2 kg
- Wingspan: 100-150 cm
- Maximum flight height: up to 8800 m.
This species of birds inhabits the mountainous water bodies of central Asia. Mountain goose can cover a distance of 1600 km with low atmospheric pressure in one day. It is worth noting that the mountain air is so thin that the helicopter does not fly to such heights, however, these birds are able to fly over the Himalayas in winter.
Gray Crane - second place
- Sizes: 100-115 cm
- Weight: 5-6 kg
- Wingspan: 180-200 cm
- Maximum flight altitude: up to 10,000 m.
Cranes nesting sites are seen in Northern and Western Europe, also almost throughout Russia and China, and in places in Turkey, Altai and Tibet. Migrates through the Himalayas to the southeast of China, on the Pacific coast.Today it is an endangered species due to the reduction of habitat.
The highest flying bird in the world
- Sizes: 65-85 cm
- Weight: 4-5 kg
- Wingspan: 225-230 cm
- Maximum flight altitude: up to 12150 m.
The highest flying bird in the world is the African vulture.. The habitat of the bird is Central Africa. Poultry can withstand extremely low oxygen levels. The reason for this is a special type of hemoglobin contained in the blood of the neck. It was established that the rise to such a height is necessary for the bird to better view the territory and timely detection of prey.
Birds have been and remain the only masters of the sky. TOP 3 includes a mountain goose, a gray crane and an African vulture. Scientists can only guess how, without aerodynamic drawings and complex mathematical calculations, nature managed to create such unique creatures of its kind.
