Chapter 1: The Altitude Capabilities of Birds

How high can birds actually fly? This question, while intriguing, leads us to explore the fascinating mechanics of avian flight and the limitations they face.

Bernoulli’s principle sheds light on how birds achieve flight. When a bird flaps its wings, a pressure differential occurs between the air above and below its wings. As a result, the air pressure is lower above the wings compared to below them, creating an upward force. This upward lift allows birds to soar through the sky, much like how an airplane maintains its altitude.

However, the concept of space presents a challenge. Space is a vacuum, devoid of air. Consequently, birds lack the necessary lift to ascend into space, restricting their flight to the Earth's atmosphere.

Chapter 2: Understanding Bird Collisions

Why do birds often collide with glass? The phenomenon is quite alarming, with reports indicating that nearly a billion birds in the U.S. perish annually due to glass collisions.

One major factor contributing to this is the visual deception created by reflective surfaces. During their breeding season, many birds mistake reflections of themselves or other birds for real entities, leading to tragic crashes.

Additionally, one might wonder why birds perched on power lines don’t get electrocuted. To grasp this, it’s important to understand how electricity functions. Electricity consists of negatively charged electrons that flow from areas of high potential to low potential. Electrical wires are typically made from copper, which has a low resistance. In contrast, a bird's body has higher resistance, allowing electricity to flow through the wire without affecting the bird.

However, bats are a different story. They often land with one foot on one wire and another on a different wire. If there’s a potential difference between these wires, it creates a pathway for the electrons to flow through the bat's body, which can be fatal.

The second video titled "How high can birds fly?" provides further insights into avian flight capabilities and the science behind it.