News in Brief Animals

Even a tiny oil spill spells bad news for birds

Eating small amounts of the crude form left the animals lagging

duckling covered in oil

OILED UP  Consuming even small amounts of crude oil can make birds sluggish.

JackWylieShot/iStockphoto

By Laurel Hamers

- More than 2 years ago

MINNEAPOLIS — Birds don’t need to be drenched in crude oil to be harmed by spills and leaks.

Ingesting even small amounts of oil can interfere with the animals’ normal behavior, researchers reported November 15 at the annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North America.