The elegant snow petrel is something of a mystery to scientists, but researchers hope the fossilised remains of bird's thick, oily spit will shed light on its history.
Key points:They use their oily spit as a defence mechanismBut scientists hope that fossilised remains of the Antarctic sea bird's saliva will shed light on its history — and its future.
"[The spit is] a rich, thick oil and they feed their chicks with that but they also use it as a defence mechanism," Louise Emmerson, leader of the Seabird Research Group at the Australian Antarctic Division , said. "If a predator came to the nest they would spit at that predator and that would cover their predator.
"If it was a bird, it would cover their feathers in thick, goopy, oily, rich stuff and that would make the feathers really compromised in terms of their waterproof ability.""We don't know all that much about [snow petrels] compared with other species like penguins," AAD ecologist Colin Southwell said.
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