I doubt that even such a large vulture could attain +30,000 from near sea level... even with a "warm thermal" (as if there were some other kind).
Quite the "fluff piece", with a bit of "don't panic, folks, but..." mixed in there.
I doubt that even such a large vulture could attain +30,000 from near sea level... even with a "warm thermal" (as if there were some other kind).
In really mountainous areas, maybe, where "ground level" might be well above 10,000 MSL, but over the lesser hills of Scotland, probably not.
I think motorists should be more wary of this big bird- imagine that thing descending on some roadkill right in front of you as you come around a bend!
I doubt that even such a large vulture could attain +30,000 from near sea level... even with a "warm thermal" (as if there were some other kind).
Wouldn't it quickly descend out of the "warm thermal" as a frozen block of bird???
That's amazing... first, that they can get up there after self-launching from flatlands, and second, that they stay up there without an O2 bottle!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruppell's_Vulture
"A Rüppell's Vulture was confirmed to have been ingested by a jet engine of an airplane flying over Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire on November 29, 1973 at an altitude of 11,000 metres (36,100 ft)"
(Abidjan is a coastal city, no mountains nearby.)
Somehow they do it, the local T here at 30K is M30, not sure what it would be near the equator.
that they stay up there without an O2 bottle!
yep, specialized accomodations for high flyin' that we don't have!
"The birds have a specialized variant of the hemoglobin alphaD subunit; this protein has a high affinity for oxygen, which allows the species to take up oxygen efficiently despite the low partial pressure in the upper troposphere."
I would like to have a specialized variant of the hemoglobin alphaD subunit too.
i wonder what the air speed velocity of a rabbit laden hawk is?
i wonder what the air speed velocity of a rabbit laden hawk is?
i suspect the rabbit laden hawk got startled at the oncoming airplane and dumped its ballast.
i wonder what the air speed velocity of a rabbit laden hawk is?
I had a flight instructor tell of hitting a goose in a 172. Said the windscreen completely imploded and they had to run at full power to maintain slow flight to get back to the airport.
I would like to have a specialized variant of the hemoglobin alphaD subunit too.