Heavy metal contamination in feathers of house crow (Corvus splendens)

The present study was planned with an objective to detect the level of heavy metals in feathers of House Crow from agrifield areas of district Ludhiana and Sangrur. In feathers of House Crow, 8 heavy metals were detected through ICAP-AES, out of which As, Cd, Pb were heavy metals and Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn were essential elements. The concentration of all metals varied significantly at .05% level of significance among the different districts. The significant variations in metal level at different locations throw light on the fact that there are significant fluctuations in the level of contamination of the environment where these birds live and feathers can be used as an indicator of such contamination in wild birds without harming them.

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