British birds adapt their beaks to birdfeeders

Certain British birds have evolved longer beaks than other species, and new research suggests that our fondness for feeding them may be the reason why. Image credit: Dennis Van De Water Certain British birds have evolved longer beaks than other species, and new research suggests that our fondness for feeding them may be the reason why. The findings reveal for the first time the genetic differences between UK and Dutch great tits which researchers were then able to link to longer beaks in British birds. Scientists from the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology worked in collaboration with peers from the Universities of Sheffield, East Anglia, Exeter, Wageningen and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology. Using genetic and historical data, the research team found that the differences in beak length had occurred within a relatively short time frame. This led them to speculate that there may be a link with the relatively recent practice of putting out food for garden birds. The findings are part of a long term study being carried out on populations of great tits in Wytham Woods, in the UK, and in Oosterhout and Veluwe, in the Netherlands.