Highest-Flying Birds
Key Findings
About This Dataset
Highest-Flying BirdsRüppell'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.
Data Insights
Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart
Methodology & source
- Data source
- Wikipedia - List of Birds by Flight Heights
- Coverage
- 6 entities · 6 observations
- Measure
- Recorded Flight Altitude (m)
- Last updated
- 12 July 2026
- Compiled by
- The ANYSTAT team, from the source above
- Values are shown as reported by the source. Nothing is rescaled, rebased or converted — the only changes are thousand separators and decimals shown to two places.
- Entities are ranked highest-first on their value.
Data Sources & References
All external sources cited in this dataset
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