Bar-Headed Geese Research Paper

The Himalayas are a cold, icy terrain where a handful of people have chosen to climb the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest. However, the harsh conditions of the Himalayas do not intimidate bar-headed geese. In fact, bar-headed geese have been spotted flying over Mount Everest. How do these birds manage to fly in such high elevation? Bar-headed geese have adapted to annual flights above the Himalayas with large lungs and different layers of feathers.
One adaptation that helps bar-headed geese safely fly over the Himalayas is having large lungs. High up in the Himalayas there is less oxygen making it more difficult to breath. According to Source #1, “they need 10 to 20 times more oxygen to fly than they do when they are at rest.” Since bar-headed geese have large lungs, they can breathe very deeply. This adaptation is called an oxygen use adaptation. According to Source #3, an oxygen use adaptation causes bar-headed geese to have the “ability to survive with low oxygen or no oxygen for periods of time.” It is clear that without large lungs, bar-headed geese wouldn’t have the oxygen to safely fly over the Himalayas.
Bar-headed geese produce body heat with the help of a “inner layer of down feathers” (Source #1.) In addition, bar-headed geese have an outer layer of feathers that are waterproof, which prevent ice or snow from building up which would weigh the geese down. This is a body parts adaptation. According to Source #3, a body parts adaptation is to have “shells or other body structures that help animals survive.” In addition, the layer of down and waterproof feathers are a temperature control adaptation as well. A temperature control adaptation is an adaptation that helps “animals survive in extreme heat or cold.” (Source #3.) With these feathers, bar-headed geese have the ability to stay warm and dry on their flight above the