The concept of a canary in a coal mine – a sensitive species that provides an alert to danger—originated with British miners, who carried actual canaries underground through the mid-1980s to detect the presence of deadly carbon monoxide gas. Today another bird, the emperor penguin, is providing a similar warning about the planetary effects of burning fossil fuels.
Click here for original story, Emperor penguins could march to extinction if nations fail to halt climate change
Source: Phys.org