> > > Chris Thompson wrote:
> > >
> > > The highest altitude that I know of that a bird has been observed flying is
> > > a record of a Griffon (I forget the species) at 27,000 feet. It was
> > > published as a tiny note in Wilson Bulletin many years ago. There are
> > > many records of waterfowl and geese migrating over mountain ranges
> > > e.g. the Himalayas) at altitudes in excess of 20,000 feet.
> > >
> >
>
I remember reading in a (1989) Guiness Book of Records that a Ruppels
Vulture (Gyps rueppellii) collided with a commercial airliner at
11,277m (37,000ft) over Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Sufficient feather
remains were recovered to allow US Museum of Nat History to make a
positive ID, but even they acknowledged that this was a freakish
altitude as this bird is rarely seen above 20,000 ft.

Regards
Ken