I love watching birds! It’s so amazing how they can fly high in the sky. Imagine an eagle flying from the top of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. It looks so easy for them! But guess what? The eagle didn’t just fly up there by itself. A trainer helped it to show how important it is to protect birds that are in danger. Isn’t that cool?
Someone named Nova asked a great question: “How high can a bird fly?” Birds fly for many reasons, like looking for food. Have you ever seen a hawk? They have super sharp eyes and can see their prey from way up high. But sometimes, they fly close to the ground to catch their food by surprise. While many birds can fly really high, they often fly low when hunting.
Can you think of reasons why birds might want to fly high? Let’s talk about it!
One reason is to stay safe from animals that might want to eat them, like foxes and coyotes. Flying high helps them escape danger. And guess what? Birds also fly high when they travel long distances to find better weather or a nice place to build a nest. This is called migration, and it can take a long time, sometimes more than a month!
Flying high helps birds stay cool because it’s colder up there. Just like us, birds can get hot when they move a lot. The cold air helps them not to overheat. Also, the wind can be different up high. It might blow in a direction that helps birds fly faster without getting tired. It’s like having a friend push you on your bike so you don’t have to pedal as much!
Sometimes, birds can go higher without even flapping their wings! They use warm air that rises, called thermals, to lift them up. It’s like riding an air elevator! Next time you’re outside on a warm day, look for birds flying in circles without flapping. They’re probably using a thermal to go higher. Isn’t that neat?
Birds can fly really high! Some birds, like whooper swans and mallard ducks, have been seen flying over 20,000 feet high. That’s higher than some of the tallest mountains! Even airplane pilots have seen birds flying higher than that. A griffon vulture was once spotted flying at 36,000 feet, which is the highest anyone has ever seen a bird fly! Humans can’t survive that high without a plane because it’s too cold and there’s not enough air. But birds can!
So, birds fly high for many reasons, like escaping danger or getting a helpful push from the wind. High-flying birds like vultures and geese can fly higher than the tallest mountains. Isn’t that amazing?
Thanks, Nova, for the great question! We’ll have more fun questions soon. Until then, think about these: Why do we have allergies? How do flowers bloom in the spring? Or how do bees make honey? Let us know which one you want to learn about next. Stay curious, and see you next time!
Bird Watching Adventure: Go outside with a parent or guardian and try to spot different birds. Use a notebook to draw the birds you see and write down what they are doing. Are they flying high or low? Can you see any birds using thermals to glide without flapping their wings? Share your observations with your class and discuss why the birds might be flying at those heights.
Build a Paper Bird: Create a simple paper bird using colored paper and scissors. Once your bird is ready, try to make it “fly” by tossing it gently into the air. Experiment with different ways to throw it to see how high it can go. Talk about what makes your paper bird fly higher or lower. Does the wind help it stay in the air longer?
Imagine and Draw: Imagine you are a bird flying high in the sky. Draw a picture of what you might see from up there. Would you see mountains, rivers, or maybe your school? Think about why you might want to fly high like a bird. Share your drawing with your classmates and explain your reasons for flying high.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, it’s Esther! I love watching birds. It’s amazing how they can soar through the air, like this eagle flying off the top of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world. It makes it look so easy! In case you’re wondering, the eagle didn’t fly up there on its own; it was released by a trainer to promote the conservation of endangered birds. Pretty cool!
Someone named Nova has a question about birds in flight. Let’s give Nova a call now.
Hi, Nova! I got a question for you: How high can a bird fly? That’s a great question! Birds fly for all sorts of reasons, but one of the main reasons is to hunt. See this hawk? It’s looking for food. Hawks can see amazingly well from up high, but this one is choosing to fly close to the ground so it can swoop down quickly and surprise its prey. While most birds, like hawks, can fly really high, it’s normal for them to fly low when hunting.
There are many times when a bird would want to fly high. Can you think of any? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss.
Okay, you ready? I don’t know how you answered, but you may have mentioned that birds need to fly high to escape danger, and you’re right! There are lots of animals, like foxes and coyotes, that want to eat them, and flying high can keep them safe. I mean, when’s the last time you saw a flying coyote?
But that’s not the only reason a bird might want to fly high. Each winter, certain types of birds fly thousands of miles looking for better weather or just the right place to build a nest. It’s called migration, and it’s definitely not easy. It can take some birds more than a month to get to where they’re trying to go. Imagine having to fly for that long! I’m getting tired just thinking about it!
Luckily, flying high can help with that. For one thing, it’s a lot cooler up there. Just like you and me, birds get hot when they move a lot, and the cold air up high can keep them from overheating. Another reason birds fly high during migration is wind. Wind can blow in different directions as you go higher. For example, down low it can be blowing one way, but way up high it might be blowing another way. If a bird wants to fly in the direction of those winds, they’ll fly high to catch it. That way, the wind can help push them along so they don’t get as tired on the long trip. It’s kind of like if a friend was pushing you on your bike so you don’t have to pedal as much.
Oh, and get this: sometimes birds can even get pushed along by air that’s moving up instead of sideways! Check this out: notice how this bird is going higher and higher without flapping its wings? High-flying birds use towers of rising warm air called thermals to gain altitude without getting tired. It’s kind of like hopping on an elevator of air! You can actually observe birds using thermals on your own. Next time you’re outside on a warm day, watch for birds flying in circles without flapping their wings. If they’re getting higher and higher, they’re probably circling in a thermal. Pretty cool!
Because of energy-saving thermals and the power of their flapping wings, birds can fly pretty high when they need to. And when I say high, I’m not talking about just a little bit. I’m talking way up there! I’m serious! Birds like whooper swans and even mallard ducks have been spotted flying over 20,000 feet. Mountain climbers have even reported seeing migrating birds, like bar-headed geese, soar over some of the tallest mountains on Earth. And believe it or not, airplane pilots have seen birds flying even higher than that, like a type of griffon vulture that was flying at 36,000 feet—the highest anyone’s ever discovered a flying bird! Humans can’t survive at altitudes like that unless they’re in a warm plane; it’s too cold and there’s not enough air to breathe. But amazingly, high-flying birds can!
In summary, birds fly high for a lot of reasons, like to escape from predators or to get a helpful push from the wind. High-flying birds like vultures and geese have been spotted flying higher than the tallest mountains on Earth, and even by pilots flying planes, like the griffon vulture reported flying at 36,000 feet—the highest a bird has ever been observed flying.
That’s all for this week’s question! Thanks, Nova, for asking it. We’ll be back with a new episode in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, here are some older questions from the question jar that you can vote on for next week. You can choose from: Why do we have allergies? How do flowers bloom in the spring? Or how do bees make honey? So submit your vote when the video is over. We want to hear from all of you watching! There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week!
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
