Climate change affects not only humans but also animals. Strong shapeshifting has particularly been reported in birds. Several species of Australian parrot have shown, on average, a 4%-10% increase in bill size since 1871.
North American dark-eyed juncos, a type of small songbird, had a link between increased bill size and short-term temperature extremes in cold environments. There have also been reported changes in mammalian species. Researchers have reported tail length increases in wood mice and tail and leg size increases in masked shrews.
The researchers are next planning to investigate shapeshifting in Australian birds first-hand by 3D-scanning museum bird specimens from the past 100 years. However, they also said that shapeshifting does not mean that animals are coping with climate change and that all is fine. It just means they are evolving to survive it.
Also read |Birds shapeshifting to survive climate change
