World News for Students of English

12-06-2015 07:00

A Polish university professor has captured the moment a tiny bird met the world for the first time. The video shows the blue tit chick slowly emerging from its egg on the palm of his hand, on Gotland Island in Sweden last month. The bird spends a little while trying to fully detach itself from the egg shell, the professor at one point offering a helping hand.

Shimon Drobniak is part of a group of professors who’ve been studying these birds up close since 2002. They want to understand the birds’ mating habits and see the effects of testosterone and stress hormones on chicks.

After their birth, the chicks will be reared in incubators by the researchers to keep track of their progress.

Difficult words: tiny (very small), blue tit (a type of bird), chick (a young bird), detach (to get away from), mating (pairing to have babies), habit (something which happens in a usual way), rear (to look after), incubator (a box for babies to keep them warm and safe), keep track (to remain informed).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com