Why do bar-headed geese fly over the Himalayas?
Bar-headed geese can reach high altitudes during their migration across the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau because they can continue supporting the metabolic costs of flight as the air becomes extremely hypoxic.
What adaptations do bar-headed geese have that allow them to fly over the Himalayas?
Bar-headed geese have a slightly larger wingspan and lower wing loading than other similar goose species (Lee et al. 2008), yielding greater lift and reducing the power required for flight (Pennycuick 1972). Their flight muscle is better supplied with fresh oxygenated blood than other waterfowl (Fedde et al.
What goose flies over Himalayas?
A tracking study has revealed the secrets of the Himalayan flight of the bar-headed goose – the world’s highest bird migration. The geese have been recorded at heights of more than 7,000m (23,000 ft) and mountaineers have claimed they have seen the birds fly over Mount Everest.
What is remarkable about the migration of the bar-headed geese?
The bar-headed goose is famous for reaching extreme altitudes during its twice-yearly migrations across the Himalayas. These geese have been tracked flying as high as 7,270 meters up, and mountaineers have anecdotally reported seeing them fly over summits around Mount Everest (that are over 8,000 meters tall).
Which bird flies over Himalayas?
bar-headed goose
The bar-headed goose migrates over the Himalayas to spend the winter in parts of South Asia (from Assam to as far south as Tamil Nadu.
Do birds fly over Mount Everest?
Every year, millions of bar-headed geese migrate over the Himalayas and have been doing so for millions of years. They have been seen flying at 28,000 feet. They have flown over Mount Everest! The answer seems to be that bar-headed geese, like all birds—hummingbirds, ostriches, pigeons—have super-efficient lungs.
How can geese fly at high altitudes?
They also found that the blood in the birds’ veins cooled as they flew in the wind tunnel with simulated low-oxygen conditions. Cold blood can carry more oxygen than warm blood, which may help the geese fuel the muscles that help them fly.
How does bar-headed goose manage to fly at such heights?
Cooler air also helps to regulate body heat and contains more oxygen, enabling geese to fly even as the air thins at higher levels. To fly so far at such a great height, the bar-headed geese must sustain a 10- to 20-fold increase in oxygen consumption.
Why it is called bar-headed goose?
It can fly at altitudes of 25,000 feet, while migrating over the Himalayas, where oxygen and temperature levels are extremely low. This pale grey bird is distinct from other geese in its genus because of the black bars on its head.
Where do bar-headed geese migrate from?
In the colder months (October through March), bar-headed geese live in low-lying swamps in northern India and Burma. When the weather warms up they take to the skies on their annual migration to their summer breeding grounds in the high mountain lakes and wetlands of central Asia.
What birds migrate over the Himalayas?
Many birds wintering in the Indian subcontinent fly across the Himalayas during migration, including Bar-headed Geese (Anser indicus), Demoiselle Cranes (Anthropoides virgo) and Ruddy Shelducks (Tadorna ferruginea).