Attempt to smuggle protected birds foiled

The palm cockatoo, a large species of parrot from Papua New Guinea and Australia, has been dethroned as the common ancestor of the cockatoo family by a new genetic study that has redrawn the family's evolutionary history. Photo: lil moe72SYDNEY: In a study that could dissuade breeders from illegally smuggling parrot eggs, the DNA code of the cockatoo mitochondrial genome has been pieced together, revealing the surprising evolutionary history of these large, native Australasian birds.