News Animals

Here’s how honeyeaters and other birds thrive on sugary diets

DNA tweaks let birds that eat nectar or fruit manage their metabolism and blood pressure

A black, white and yellow bird known as a honeyeater perches on a flower.

The New Holland honeyeater is a nectar-sipping bird from Australia. It can thrive on its sickeningly sweet diet due to genetic adaptations, changing the way its body responds to sugar.

© Gerald Allen

By Bethany Brookshire

This is a human-written story voiced by AI.