快猫短视频

(Image: Mionserrat Su谩rez-Rodr铆guez)

THERE鈥橲 always a butt. Birds that line their nest with cigarette stubs can cut parasite numbers, raising their chicks鈥� chances of survival. But there鈥檚 a downside too.

of the National Autonomous University of Mexico reported the effect on parasites in 2012. Now his team finds that the more butts are present in Mexican house finch nests, the greater the number of chromosomal abnormalities in the chicks.

The damage might have adverse effects on the birds as they age, the team told a meeting of the for Evolutionary Biology in Lausanne, Switzerland. They are now studying whether birds add more butts when there are more parasites.

This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淏irds鈥� love of butts harms their chicks鈥�