High mercury levels in tropical birds in Americas blamed on gold mining
By 
Rebecca Trager2023-12-08T09:30:00
Exotic birds are the canary in the gold mine when it comes to mercury pollution and provide warning that other animals, including humans, affected
Gold mining appears to be behind high levels of mercury in tropical birds, according to a new study led by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Researchers from seven countries made the discovery when they analysed more than 2300 blood and feather samples from over 320 Neotropical bird species that hail from nine countries across Central America, South America and the West Indies.