House finches in Mexico City use discarded cigarette butts in the lining of their nests to fend of parasites, Herre de Bondt tells us more abut this interesting behaviour and some of its potentially worrisome impacts.

Recorded: 30 October 2023.

Featured:

• All that breathes
• Lively Cities by Maan Barua.
• Killer Cities by Nigel Thrift.
• An experimental demonstration that house finches add cigarette butts in response to ectoparasites by Monserrat Suárez-Rodríguez, Constantino Macías Garcia.
• Interacting effects of aromatic plants and female age on nest-dwelling ectoparasites and blood-sucking flies in avian nests by G Tomás et al.
• Incorporation of cigarette butts into nests reduces nest ectoparasite load in urban birds: new ingredients for an old recipe? By Monserrat Suárez-Rodríguez, Isabel López-Rull and Constantino Macías Garcia
• Smoking and Lung Cancer by Tonya Walser et al.
• There is no such a thing as a free cigarette; lining nests with discarded butts brings short-term benefits, but causes toxic damage by M. Suárez-Rodríguez, C. Macías Garcia
• Mexico tightens ban on smoking in public places by Will Grant on the BBC

Credits:

• Claudia Hirtenfelder, executive producer and host
• Herre de Bondt, co-host and co-editor
• Christiaan Mentz, sound editor and producer
• Rebecca Shen, content producer and designer (logo and episode artwork)
• Gordon Clarke, bed music composer
• Learn more about the team here.

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