Aromatherapy is for the birds. Blue tits use mint and lavender to disinfect and freshen their nests.
Blue tits use mint and lavender to disinfect and freshen their nests.
Researchers from France's National Centre of Scientific Research, wrote in the journal Oecologia that aromatic plants, including lavender (Lavandula stoechas), apple mint (Mentha suaveolens), the curry plant (Helichrysum itlaicum) and Achillea ligustica significantly change the composition of bacterial communities living on blue tit nestlings.
They reduce the number of different bacterial species, and the total number of bacteria, especially on chicks that are most vulnerable because they are both highly infested by blow fly larvae and carry great amounts of bacteria on their skin.
Blue tit chicks living in nests adorned with aromatic plants grew faster and had a higher proportion of red blood cells, which is known to be a strong indicator of a chick's future chances of survival after fledging.
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