Why some birds decorate their nests with snake skin: The reason is brilliant
Researchers tested four different hypotheses about what benefits snake skin might provide—including reducing nest parasites, altering microbial communities, and social signaling—and found the strongest support for the predation hypothesis. The snakeskin works primarily as a predator deterrent, not for some other reason scientists might have guessed. The broader takeaway is something Rohwer himself pointed out:…