If you鈥檝e spent even a little time outdoors in Colorado, you鈥檝e most likely heard the song of the mountain chickadee. These adorable, chubby little birds are commonly found in higher-elevation forests in the Rocky Mountains.
And they have a close relative 鈥� the black-capped chickadee, which tends to live at lower elevations. But in areas like Boulder County, the habitats of these two types of chickadees overlap.
Historically, the two types of chickadees had identical birdsongs. Which could create a problem.
When birds from these two distinct species want to find a mate, it鈥檚 important that they can identify a bird of their own kind, and avoid getting mixed up with their close cousins.
But researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder say the . The mountain chickadee has changed its tune so it鈥檚 not the same as the song of the black-capped chickadee.
And new findings from the CU study suggest that the changed birdsong is a small example of how human activity and urban development can impact wildlife鈥檚 evolution.
is one of several researchers at the University of Colorado who have been studying this adaptation. She and fellow CU researcher, associate professor (no relation), joined ITN鈥檚 Erin O鈥橳oole to talk about their findings, which were recently published in the .
You can learn more about Scott Taylor鈥檚 work with the .
