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Title: Birds regularly reach altitudes higher than human mountain climbers can ascend without using ... Post by: msw2 on Feb 7, 2018 Birds regularly reach altitudes higher than human mountain climbers can ascend without using auxiliary breathing apparatus, both as residents and during migration.
For example, radar tracking of migrating birds shows that they sometimes fly as high as 6500 meters, the alpine chough lives at altitudes of around 8200 meters on Mount Everest, and bar-headed geese pass directly over the summit of the Himalayas at altitudes of 9200 meters during their migrations. Explain the features of the sauropsid respiratory system that allow birds to breathe at such high altitudes. Title: Birds regularly reach altitudes higher than human mountain climbers can ascend without using ... Post by: a_simon616 on Feb 7, 2018 The tidal-flow ventilation pattern of mammals leaves a substantial volume of stale air in the lungs after each exhalation. The fresh air that enters with the next inspiration mixes with this stale air. The flow-through design of the lungs of birds minimizes the volume of stale air that remains after an exhalation, thereby increasing the oxygen concentration at the gas-exchange surfaces.
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