First evidence of microplastic buildup in bird lungs found in new study

Researchers describe widespread contamination of plastics in the bodies of more than 50 different bird speciesA new study has provided the first evidence that microplastics are accumulating in bird lungs.Birds have long been used to give early warnings of environmental risks. The absence of birdsong was used in the evocative title of Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring, and for more than a century miners carried caged canaries to warn of carbon monoxide – a practice that ended in UK coalmines only in 1996. Continue reading...

Mar 21, 2025 - 07:05
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First evidence of microplastic buildup in bird lungs found in new study

Researchers describe widespread contamination of plastics in the bodies of more than 50 different bird species

A new study has provided the first evidence that microplastics are accumulating in bird lungs.

Birds have long been used to give early warnings of environmental risks. The absence of birdsong was used in the evocative title of Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring, and for more than a century miners carried caged canaries to warn of carbon monoxide – a practice that ended in UK coalmines only in 1996. Continue reading...