SOME LIKE IT HOT

Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) which share parenting in male-female pairs sometimes make a unique call – a form of vocal panting – when incubating a nest alone in high temperatures.

Research has shown that hearing the call prompts developmental and behavioural changes in the offspring – once hatched, the young chicks beg less often and more intensely, but also grow relatively slowly, perhaps as a means of reducing oxidative damage or facilitating heat loss, the scientists suggest.

As adults, heatexposed birds also seek hotter nests themselves and produce more fledglings during their first breeding season, suggesting that they are better adapted to hotter environments.