Monday 28 March 2022

Birds laying eggs a month early due to climate change

Birds laying eggs a month early due to climate change

Birds are now laying their eggs four weeks early than they were a century ago – and it’s all due to climate change.

That’s according to a new study by the Field Museum in Chicago, which found that around a third of the species in the American city are now laying eggs 25 days earlier on average.

The researchers compared 100-year-old dried eggshells with the current batch produced from nesting birds observed high in the trees over a lengthy period of time.

Comparing the carbon dioxide levels in the area a century ago to modern day revealed this change was a knock-on effect of global warming.

Lead author of the study Dr John Bates commented: “The majority of the birds we looked at eat insects – and insects' seasonal behaviour is also affected by climate. The birds have to move their egg-laying dates to adapt.”

The study reveals that the food chain has been destabilised by species’ adaptations to changing weather and this will only worsen as temperatures continue to rise.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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