Dear Tom,
As a Navy carrier pilot during World War II, I was required to wear an oxygen mask when I flew 10,000 feet or higher. Since birds cannot use oxygen masks, how high can they fly safely into the atmosphere?
Leo McNamee Jr. Downers Grove, Ill.
Dear Leo,
Because birds have special adaptations that enable them to obtain sufficient oxygen even in the rarified atmosphere that prevails at great height, lack of oxygen might not limit the altitude at which they can fly nearly as much as you might think. As documented by collisions with jet aircraft, some birds have flown at sensationally great heights.
On Nov. 29. 1973, a Ruppell’s griffin (a vulture with a ten-foot wing span) was sucked into a jet engine at an altitude of 37,000 feet (7 miles) over Abidjan, Cote D’ivoire, Africa. That’s probably the world height record.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
