If you know an old lady who swallowed a spider, tell her to
cough it up. Spiders and insects living near a mercury-contaminated river
contain unusually high levels of the toxic metal, and it is turning up in area
songbirds, a new study finds.
BIRD FOOD Researchers intercepted delivery of baby birds’ food, such as the spider and beetle grubs shown here, and found that some of these critters can carry mercury up the food chain.
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