Vulture nests act as time capsules

Discarded dwellings hold troves of human artefacts and environmental information

- Kenny Taylor

SPANISH RESEARCHERS have discovered that disused bearded vulture nests can preserve layers of bones, eggshells and even human-made objects for hundreds of years.

The study, led by Antoni Margalida and published in Ecology, shows how these long-abandoned abodes act as natural archives of both bird behaviour and human history.