Bar-Headed Geese’s Himalayan Heights
Most birds avoid flying over Mount Everest. Bar-headed geese fly straight over it. These high-altitude specialists soar past the world’s tallest peaks at 29,000 feet, where the air holds just a third of the oxygen we breathe at sea level. Their bodies work like high-performance athletes – supercharged lungs extract every bit of available oxygen while specialized hemoglobin carries it efficiently to their muscles. From Mongolia to India, they soar, crossing the roof of the world twice each year.