Try GOLD - Free

Gannets found to be avian flu survivors

BBC Wildlife

|

July 2023

Bass Rock northern gannet study finds irises of birds that beat avian flu turn from blue to black

- Simon Birch

Gannets found to be avian flu survivors

SCIENTISTS HAVE MADE THE DISCOVERY that northern gannets can recover from avian flu and that the irises of the gannets that survive the infection turn from a normal vivid blue to black, an indicator of a previous infection.

A detailed study on the impact of avian flu was carried out on the Bass Rock in Scotland - home to 150,000 gannets, the largest single gannet colony in the world - which was affected by an avian flu outbreak in 2022.

MORE STORIES FROM BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

Can animals make friends?

THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY ANIMAL species band together with others of their kind – for protection in numbers, to achieve a common goal, to safeguard young or to maximise breeding opportunities. But are any of these relationships true friendships in our human understanding of the word?

time to read

1 mins

November 2025

BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

What is the rights of nature movement?

THE RIGHTS OF NATURE MOVEMENT argues that nonhuman natural entities and ecosystems, from rivers to woodlands and coral reefs to savannahs, are not mere property but rights holders in law.

time to read

2 mins

November 2025

BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

BEAK & CLAW

Raptors have declined across Africa, but a new effort to safeguard them is underway

time to read

7 mins

November 2025

BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

TAKE ME TO THE RIVER

Going deep into the Amazon on a river cruise offers a different way of experiencing this extraordinary place

time to read

7 mins

November 2025

BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

NIGHT MOVES

Noctourism reveals wildlife's secret rhythms while boosting vital conservation efforts

time to read

7 mins

November 2025

BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

Mountain highs and seafaring lows with Lauren Owens Lambert

THE INSIDE WORLD OF WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY

time to read

3 mins

November 2025

BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

Proboscis monkey's big nose boosts vocal identity

A new study shows how nose shape creates resonant frequencies that allow individuals to be recognised

time to read

1 mins

November 2025

BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

"I have never known fear like it"

Leopard and lions in Mozambique

time to read

3 mins

November 2025

BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

Free as a bird

THE ARTICLE ON HOW ANIMALS USE sound in the September issue included comment on dialect or accent in birdsong.

time to read

2 mins

November 2025

BBC Wildlife

BBC Wildlife

Rattlesnakes inbreeding

Break up of habitat leads to desperate measures

time to read

1 min

November 2025

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size