Birds and Parasites Locked in 'Evolutionary Battle'

A new investigation revealed that 99% of all Eastern bluebirds surveyed in Virginia, the United States, were infected with various feather-eating parasites, which adversely affected their quality of life, as well as their ability to mate and give birth to offspring. The bugs have a considerable influence on the way the birds look and feel, and can even make them sick with relative ease, the BBC News informs. “Feather-degrading bacteria are relatively new to ornithologists. The first report of their occurrence on wild birds was published only ten years ago,” Duke University expert Alex Gunderson says.

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