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Hummingbirds Are Evolving to Adapt to Life With Humans
Anna’s hummingbirds have evolved to have longer, larger beaks to access backyard feeders in urban areas. It could be a step toward becoming a “commensal” species that lives alongside humans, like pigeons.
The study, which looked at reported sightings of the birds as well museum specimens from the past 160 years, also found that males are developing sharper, more pointed beaks, possibly to compete with other hummingbirds for access to these sugar-filled fountains. The researchers discovered that the population density of Calypte anna has also increased over time, and found that this appears to be linked to the proliferation of feeding fountains and nectar-producing eucalyptus trees, both of which were introduced to the region by humans. We can think of the Anna’s hummingbird as a commensal species, similar to pigeons,” says Nicolas Alexandre, coauthor of the study and a geneticist at Colossal Biosciences, a biotechnology and de-extinction company based in Dallas, Texas.
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