BIRDS - Missing hormone in birds: Leptin found in mallard duck, peregrine falcon and zebra finch

How does the Arctic tern (a sea bird) fly more than 80,000 miles in its roundtrip North Pole-to-South Pole migration? How does the Emperor penguin incubate eggs for months during the Antarctic winter without eating? These physiological gymnastics would usually be influenced by leptin, the hormone that regulates body fat storage, metabolism and appetite. However, leptin has gone missing in birds -- until now ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140324184227.ht