Chronic exposure to low oxygen (hypoxia) leads to amplification of the hypoxic chemoreflex, increasing breathing and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation. Prolonged SNS activation redistributes blood to hypoxia-sensitive tissues, away from muscles. Recent tracking studies have shown that migratory songbirds can fly 5,000 m or higher above sea level, leading us to hypothesize that migratory birds may have a blunted hypoxic chemoreflex to maintain blood flow to muscles during migratory flight at high altitudes. To test this hypothesis, we used a hypobaric wind tunnel and measured circulating plasma catecholamines after maximal altitude flight, flight at 75% of maximal altitude, flight at ground level (~250 m), and after rest at 75% of maximal altitude and ground level in migratory myrtle yellow-rumped warblers (