Bird sperm what it can tell us | A Gallery from Our Changing World | RNZ National

Sperm from rare native birds such as robins and common introduced birds such as dunnocks will shed light on problems such as male fertility and infertile eggs.

Dunnock photo Carlos Esteban Lara

Dunnock sperm photo Helen Taylo

Dunnock egg photo Carlos Esteban Lara

Helen Taylor (right) holding a dunnock as her assistant collects its sperm photo Alison Ballance

Dunnock in the hand photo Alison Ballance

Blackbird in the hand having sperm collected photo Alison Ballance

Dunnock eggs in a nest photo Carlos Esteban Lara

Dunnock chicks in nest photo Carlos Esteban Lara

Helen Taylor with her mobile sperm analysis lab photo Alison Ballance

Swimming sperm - the coloured lines mark the swimming speed and direction of individual sperm captured by the sperm analysis software Helen Taylor

Students from the University of Otago have been studying dunnocks in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens for about 7 years photo Carlos Esteban Lara

Carlos Esteban Lara removing a dunnock from a mist net photo Alison Ballance

Dunnock that has just been removed from a mist net photo Alison Ballance

The images in this gallery are used with permission and are subject to copyright conditions.