Trivia Junction

A Compendium of trivia I find interesting
...for the curious

What if birds follow humans when there are no humans?

This swallow doesn't follow

Barn swallows are ubiquitous, little birds found pretty much wherever people live.

Indeed, biologists believe the birds' wide range is due to their opportunistic exploitation of human-built structures. Without barns, bridges and house eaves, swallows would have to settle for building their mud nests in caves or tree crevices.

But the rule that swallows follow has at least one exception.

Robert M. Zink, an ornithologist at the University of Minnesota, and colleagues conducted genetic studies of swallows living in the Baikal region of Siberia. The findings revealed that the birds are more closely related to North American swallows than those from Eurasia, and immigrated to Baikal at least 500 years ago, long before humans called the region home.

How the birds have managed to survive isn't known. Or why they're there at all since only a birdbrain would actually choose to live in Siberia.

Prior | Tell us what you think | Next

Add to Your Social Bookmarks: Del.icio.us Digg Furl Reddit Simpy Spurl Y! MyWeb - StumbleUpon