Almost all of the ‘sex discordant’ birds were genetically female but had male reproductive organs, study finds
-
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
About 5% of common Australian wild birds including kookaburras and lorikeets could have undergone a “sex reversal” where their genetic sex does not match their reproductive organs, according to a new study.
The study is thought to be the first to find widespread sex reversal across multiple wild bird species, but the cause of the phenomenon is not yet known.