Tits use cigarette butts to protect nests from vermin

In the wild, tits protect their nests with plants such as lavender. Their odour repels bloodsucking parasites.

In cities, the birds have found a substitute:

• cigarette butts

Details

Scientists studied 33 nests and compared the different options.

It turned out that:

• the nests with cigarette butts had fewer parasites
• the chicks had higher blood counts

This indicates that they were losing less blood and were in better condition.

Cigarette butts contain nicotine, a substance that acts as an insecticide.

It:

• repels parasites
• reduces the number of parasites in the nest

In this way cigarette butts fulfil the same function as plants do in nature.

Why it's important

However, cigarette butts also contain harmful substances:

• heavy metals
• toxic compounds

Scientists do not yet know how this affects birds in the long term.

What the research shows is that

• animals can adapt to urban environments
• even rubbish can be used as a survival tool
• pollution's impact on nature may be more complex than it seems

Source

The study was conducted by scientists from Poland. The results were published in the journal Animal Behaviour.