News Animals

The mere sight of illness may kick-start a canary’s immune system

Simply seeing another bird get sick is enough to trigger an immune response in healthy birds

yellow canary bird sitting on a branch

Canaries (one pictured) can kick-start their immune systems to deal with potential pathogen threats before the birds actually become infected. In a laboratory experiment, being housed near sick birds prompted healthy canaries to mount an immune response.

Juniors Bildarchiv GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo

By Jonathan Lambert

- More than 2 years ago

For canaries, just seeing their feathered friends get sick may be enough to preemptively rev up their immune systems.