Highest-Flying Birds

The highest altitudes at which birds have been recorded flying, in metres. Rüppell's vulture holds the record at 11,300 m - higher than a cruising airliner - after one collided with an aircraft over West Africa in 1973.

About This Dataset

Highest-Flying Birds
The highest altitudes at which birds have been recorded flying, in metres. Rüppell's vulture holds the record at 11,300 m - higher than a cruising airliner - after one collided with an aircraft over West Africa in 1973.
✨ AI Insight

Rüppell's vulture (11,300 m) flies higher than any other bird on record, cruising at altitudes where jetliners fly and oxygen is less than a quarter of sea-level values - a feat enabled by a special haemoglobin that binds oxygen far more efficiently. The common crane (10,000 m), bar-headed goose (8,800 m) and whooper swan (8,200 m) follow, all famed for crossing the world's highest mountain ranges during migration. The bearded vulture (7,300 m) and mallard (6,400 m) round out the list. The pattern splits into two groups: soaring scavengers like the vultures that ride thermals to extreme heights while searching for carrion, and powerful migratory waterfowl that climb over the Himalayas. Both defy the thin, frigid air that would render most animals unconscious.

Source:  Wikipedia - List of Birds by Flight Heights

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

🏆
Rüppell's vulture leads with 11,300 in All Time.
📊
Average value in All Time: 8,667  ·  median: 8,500.
↔️
Gap in All Time: Rüppell's vulture is 1.8× larger than Mallard.

Highest-Flying Birds

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Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin
⬡
Data Points
6
6 categories  ·  1 year
↑
Top Value
11,300
Rüppell's vulture
Recorded Flight Altitude (m) · All Time
◈
Metrics
1
Recorded Flight Altitude (m)
◷
Period
All Time
Single year snapshot

Category Rankings

Recorded Flight Altitude (m) · All Time

# Category All Time
🥇 Rüppell's vulture 11,300
🥈 Common crane 10,000
🥉 Bar-headed goose 8,800
4 Whooper swan 8,200
5 Bearded vulture 7,300
6 Mallard 6,400
Statistical Summary — Recorded Flight Altitude (m) · All Time
11,300
Maximum
6,400
Minimum
8,667
Average
8,500
Median

What This Data Shows

Auto-generated trend summaries per category

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Rüppell's vulture
Recorded 11,300 Recorded Flight Altitude (m) in All Time.
Source
→
Common crane
Recorded 10,000 Recorded Flight Altitude (m) in All Time.
Source
→
Bar-headed goose
Recorded 8,800 Recorded Flight Altitude (m) in All Time.
Source
→
Whooper swan
Recorded 8,200 Recorded Flight Altitude (m) in All Time.
Source
→
Bearded vulture
Recorded 7,300 Recorded Flight Altitude (m) in All Time.
Source
→
Mallard
Recorded 6,400 Recorded Flight Altitude (m) in All Time.
Source

Full Data Table

6 records across 1 year

✓ 6 sourced
Category Metric All Time Source
Rüppell's vulture Recorded Flight Altitude (m) 11,300
Common crane Recorded Flight Altitude (m) 10,000
Bar-headed goose Recorded Flight Altitude (m) 8,800
Whooper swan Recorded Flight Altitude (m) 8,200
Bearded vulture Recorded Flight Altitude (m) 7,300
Mallard Recorded Flight Altitude (m) 6,400

Data Sources & References

All external sources cited in this dataset

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