GENDER-bending chemicals could be interfering with the breeding of songbirds. First alligators and fish were being feminised by synthetic hormones leaking into the environment. Now nightingales, skylarks and even the humble sparrow seem to be at risk.
Researchers have found that such chemicals interfere with songbirds’ reproduction. They also alter their brains, making females sing when they shouldn’t.
“This is very significant,” says David Crews, an expert on the effects of synthetic chemicals on animal reproduction at the University of Texas in Austin. He says that until now, concrete evidence on how pollutants affect animals has been scarce. “This is the first step needed to demonstrate a causal link between specific pollutants…
