Bar-headed Geese are world's highest altitude migrants. These birds migrate from Russia to China and then fly over Mount Everest to reach their wintering grounds in India.
By Mithu Das September 04, 2011
In July 2007, at least fifty Bar-headed geese were fitted with neck collars by Wildlife Conservation Society in Mongolia. Among these birds, one (No. C6) has been photographed by Adesh Shivkar in Pune, Maharashtra, on January 2008. This bird has travelled a distance of 4780 km and crossed the Himalayas to reach India.
Bar-headed Geese are world's highest altitude migrants. They live and breed at high-altitude lakes in the mountainous regions of China, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia; and winters in Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Within Indian limit they breed in Ladakh.
To reach their wintering grounds, bar-headed geese migrate from Russia to China and then fly over Mount Everest to enter into India. How these birds fly over 29,028 feet and survive in that hostile environment is still a mystery. However, researchers found that Bar-headed geese are capable to survive in low oxygen conditions because of their hemoglobin. They could fly constantly for hours which keeps their body warm. They fly 50 miles an hour and cross 1000-mile migration route in just one day.
A report published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) showed that bar-headed geese are capable of passing over himalayas in 1 day, typically climbing between 4000 and 6000 metres in 7-8 hours. Previously, it was thought that these birds rely on favorable wind conditions or tailwind to climb up the mountains. But, according to PNAS, these birds do not rely on the assistance of up slope tailwind that usually occur during day and can support minimum climb, even in the relative stillness of the night. They appear to strategically avoid higher speed of winds during afternoon, thus maximizing safety and control during flight. It seems therefore, that bar-headed geese are capable of sustained climbing flight over the passes of the Himalaya under their own aerobic power.
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