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Tawny owls inherit the colour of their plumage from their parents

點此收聽音頻：http://www.bbc.co.uk/ukchina/simp/elt/media_english/110224_me_126_finlandowls_story.shtml

Background:

芬蘭科學家最近指出，氣候變化影響該國不同顏色貓頭鷹群體的比例。

芬蘭赫爾辛基大學研究人員報告說，在溫暖氣候裏，棕色貓頭鷹比灰色貓頭鷹更容易存活。

Despite their name, tawny owls actually come in two colours. And in Finland, the freezing, snowy winters give pale grey birds a camouflage advantage over their darker brown-feathered counterparts.

But as the Finnish winters get milder, the grey owls are disappearing.

The University of Helsinki team gathered 30 years' worth of genetic and population data on tawny owls.

They found that the birds inherited their plumage colour from their parents.

The grey tawnys, as well being better hidden from predators in the snow, seem to be endowed with other genetic advantages that make them healthier and stronger.

But despite this, the brown owl population is now overtaking that of the greys, because the warmer winters have improved the brown owls' chances of survival.

The lead researcher, Dr Patrik Karell, said that this showed that the birds were evolving in response to climate change, so the tawny owl gene pool is actually getting browner.

This is the first evidence of climate change having such an effect in the animal kingdom.

Glossary 單字表

• tawny owls棕色貓頭鷹
• camouflage（動物的）保護色
• counterparts 相似的物種
• milder 越來越溫暖
• plumage colour鳥類羽毛的顏色
• predators 食肉動物
• endowed 賦予
• in response to對…做出反應
• gene pool基因庫
• the animal kingdom動物王國，動物界