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Birds are getting smaller. Scientists see the echo of climate change.
[NBCNews] Birds have been shrinking as global temperatures rise and the climate warms, a new study published Wednesday in the journal Ecology Letters has found.

Research led by scientists at the University of Michigan examined more than 70,000 bird specimens from 52 North American migratory bird species collected between 1978 and 2016. The researchers found that body sizes for all 52 species shrank consistently over that 38-year time period while the length of wingspans grew, which suggests that birds may be forced to adapt ‐ sometimes in dramatic ways ‐ to climate change.
Or perhaps adapted to tall buildings in Chicago?
Or to more predatory birds chasing them. The populations of predatory birds had crashed by the early 1970s, reportedly as a result of DDT use. Since DDT was banned, predator bird populations have grown significantly.
"Other studies have found a relationship between temperature and body size similar to what we found, but this is the most consistent result," said Benjamin Winger, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the study’s senior author. "What we don’t know is the extent to which the shrinking bird is an adaptive response to climate change. Are they able to keep up with warming temperatures or are they lagging behind?"
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2019-12-06
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=557670