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Birds seeing red when pollinating

Australian native flowers have moved away from insects as pollinators and instead coloured themselves to attract birds.

Over 200 flowering plants were analysed, revealing that plants that had originally been exclusively pollinated by insects had gradually evolved to shift their hue to spectral wavelengths more attractive to the four-colour vision of many native birds.

The research has shown how colour can be used as an indicator of effective pollinators in an area and how flowers can actively cultivate what animals pollinate them.

Read more at Monash University

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