Sarah
Knapton, science editor
19 OCTOBER 2017 • 7:00PM
The British obsession for feeding
birds is causing their beaks to grow longer so they can reach into bird
feeders, scientists suspect. In an extraordinary example of rapid evolution,
researchers have discovered that the UK tit has a beak up to 0.3mm longer than
its European counterparts.
Although it sounds like a tiny
difference, scientists believe even such a small advantage could aid survival,
ensuring those with longer beaks live long enough to lay eggs, and pass on
their genes.
Researchers at Oxford University have been
studying the Wytham Woods great tit population in Oxfordshire for 70 years and
recently spotted that British great tits’ beaks have been getting longer since
the 1970s.
Scientists at Oxford also teamed
up with researchers from Sheffield
University, the University of East Anglia and Dutch
experts to also examine whether genes have changed to allow for the longer
beaks. They found significant differences in the DNA of British tits compared
with those in the Netherlands.
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