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It is a vulture found in the plains and deserts of the African continent, in a vast area bounded by countries such as Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania and Guinea. It goes by the scientific name of Gyps rueppellii and has been seen flying at an incredible 11,278 meters. You may be wondering: what kind of crazy person managed to catch the bird at that altitude? Simple: one of these vultures collided, on November 29, 1973, with a commercial jet passing over Abidjan, in Ivory Coast. Gyps rueppellii weighs up to 6.5 kilograms and has a wingspan of 2.4 meters. Thanks to the wide opening of its wings, it can glide for hours and catch warm air currents that always carry it upwards. The bird, having arrived at a good carcass, has excellent eyesight and is capable of finding objects up to 15 centimeters at a distance of 2,500 meters! Another record holder for flying at heights is the Indian goose (Anser indicus), capable of reaching 9,000 meters. It has been spotted flying above Mount Everest, which reaches a height of 8,848 meters. Indian geese spend the winter in northeast India at sea level and migrate to the lakes of Tibet, where they hatch their eggs. In the middle of the way, they need to cross the gigantic Himalayan range and that’s why they fly so high. To withstand the lack of oxygen in the rarefied air at high altitudes, these two species of birds have an accelerated metabolism, which produces a lot of energy in a short time. Also, their breathing apparatus allows them to have air in their lungs at all times.