Feathers of the magpie (Pica pica) as a bioindicator material for heavy metal pollution assessment

This study examined the lead and cadmium content of external tail feathers of magpies from 15 localities in Poland, differing in degree of industrialization and urbanization. Extremely high levels (up to 1500 μ/g dry wt. Pb and about 40 μ/g dry wt. Cd) were found in samples from areas surrounding two zinc smelting works. The correlation between metal content in feathers and size of immission (mg/m2/y) at the sites of capture was 0.96 for Pb and 0.97 for Cd. Magpie tail feathers are recommended as a material for environmental biomonitoring.