Birds are losing their colours due to climate change

Over the course of their 15-year observation, scientists have noted a clear decrease in coloration of blue tits, which in turn can disturb the mating patterns of these birds. Photo: AFP

A study reports how blue tits in the south of France have gradually lost the colour of their plumage in the space of 15 years. It is a direct consequence of global warming, according to the French scientists who led this research.

Published in the journal The American Naturalist, the study was carried out between 2005 and 2019 in the south of France by scientists from the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country and the Centre d’écologie fonctionnelle et évolutive (CEFE-CNRS) in Montpellier.