Imagine a world where scent not only guides your journey, but also shapes your survival. For birds, this sensory realm of smell adds layers of complexity to their behavior and ecology. From foraging to navigating vast distances during migration, avian olfaction plays a pivotal role. Whether or not birds can smell has long been a topic of debate and discovery among researchers and avian enthusiasts alike.
This blog delves into the intricate world of bird olfaction, exploring its historical misinterpretations, modern discoveries and its application in Avian Control products designed to manage bird behavior effectively.
Can Birds Smell?
Birds definitely possess the ability to smell, contrary to long-standing beliefs that suggested otherwise. While their olfactory capabilities vary between species, recent scientific advancements have painted a clearer picture of the capabilities of birds, showing that some species rely quite heavily on their ability to smell.
Historical Beliefs
Early perceptions dismissed birds’ olfactory senses, despite some suggestive evidence to the contrary, focusing instead on their visual acuity and auditory prowess. Early zoology textbooks reported that birds were anosmic, meaning that they had partial or complete loss of smell, with the exception of very few species. Humans have long written about and depicted the ability of specific species that can smell, such as the kiwi and the turkey vulture.
Even after it became broadly accepted that birds were NOT anosmic, the belief that birds had underdeveloped senses of smell as compared to other vertebrate groups was still held by many. This oversight stemmed from comparative anatomy studies that emphasized olfactory bulb size as a measure of olfactory ability, which was smaller in birds compared to mammals.
Modern Discoveries
Recent studies have revolutionized our understanding of birds’ sense of smell. Research highlights the presence of olfactory receptors in avian nasal cavities, debunking the myth of avian anosmia (lack of smell). Birds utilize their olfactory senses for various crucial behaviors, including foraging, navigation, communication and even reproduction.
In 2011, scientists compared the skull shape of early birds to those of their dinosaur ancestors and found that birds inherited a strong sense of smell from their lineage, but that some of these species lost their abilities over time. However, there are still species of bird present today who rely heavily on their olfactory senses, and olfactory bulb size continues to be used as a measure of the degree to which birds rely on their sense of smell, although it may not be the most accurate piece of data.
In 2009, researchers found, via electrophysiological data and conditioning techniques, that pigeons clearly demonstrate an olfactory perception that would be considered on par with humans, and potentially even with rats, despite their relatively small olfactory bulbs.
Birds With Strong Senses Of Smell
Although no birds have noses, some species are known for having stronger olfactory senses than others. The kiwi (the national bird of New Zealand) is the only bird known to have nostrils at the end of its beak, and has an acute sense of smell. Kiwi can smell food, and can be seen foraging based on this ability. This unusual bird is both flightless and nocturnal, and thus scientists speculate that kiwi birds developed a more advanced sense of smell in order to compensate for their other shortcomings.
Another bird with a strong olfactory system is the turkey vulture. With the largest olfactory bulb known in any bird species, they are able to smell carrion at a distance of over one mile and have even proven useful in the detection of natural gas leaks. Due to their uncanny ability to detect mercaptan, an ingredient naturally found in decaying organic matter and often added to odorless gas by utility companies, turkey vultures can be seen congregating near gas leaks.
Seabirds like petrels, albatrosses and shearwaters and are known to have some of the largest olfactory bulbs of any species and use their keen sense of smell to aid in their navigation over the sea. It’s also been noted that birds that forage at night are better able to locate their burrows because of their sense of smell, and that shearwaters are able to locate food sources like krill by scent.
The Role Of Smell In Bird Behavior
Why would some birds need such a keen sense of smell, and how does it impact their behavior? As mentioned above, many seabirds use their olfactory senses to aid in navigation. Flying over open ocean doesn’t provide much in the way of visual cues to aid their journey, so they rely heavily on scent to get to their next destination.
The ability to receive scent cues from the environment proves to be important for more than just seabirds, though. One study found that even with visual landmarks to guide them, songbirds with their olfactory senses dampened took longer to return to winter feeding sites than those with their full range of olfactory function. According to research by Diana Rubene, a common songbird “can identify herbivores‐damaged trees without any prey cues by use of olfaction alone, but not vision alone“.
Many birds use their olfactory senses to aid in foraging and food detection, as well. Turkey vultures are among the most well-known for these activities, but many other birds participate in these practices. Some can even tell the difference between prey and non-prey insects.
Previously, it was believed by most scientists that mate selection was determined via visual and auditory cues. However, olfaction has been proven to play a part in mate selection for birds — those who give off a stronger odor are more likely to attract an opposite-sex partner.
How Birds Other Senses Impact Their Behavior
Aside from their sense of smell, birds experience all of the four other senses that we are familiar with as humans, and each of these plays a different part in determining the lives of birds.
Sight: Most birds have excellent eye-sight and are able to see up to eight times better than humans can. This allows them to spot food and potential predators from a distance, which is handy while flying at great heights.
Hearing: Although we can’t see them, birds do have ears. Their ability to hear is also much more sensitive than that of humans, and it is used to keep alert of predators as well as to pick their young out of a colony of chirping chicks.
Touch: Most birds have sensitive touch receptors on their feet, beaks and tongues. Since they are prey animals, some smaller birds are particularly sensitive to the feeling of being grabbed and will react as if they’ve been captured by a predator.
Taste: According to modern research, it is evident that birds do experience a sense of taste, and it’s used to determine nutrients present in food sources. About half of all bird species have receptors related to perceiving foods as sweet, including hummingbirds who feed on sweet nectar.
Avian Control’s Innovative Use Of Smell To Repel Birds
Avian Enterprises offers products commonly used by both commercial and residential customers as a means to deter birds of all species from taking up residence in unwanted spaces. Avian Control uses an effective, proven and non-lethal bird repellent ingredient that provides long-lasting avian repellency. The active ingredient, Methyl Anthranilate (MA), irritates the pain receptors associated with birds’ sense of taste and smell. Birds find this compound unpleasant and leave areas and crops treated with it. The unpleasant effect is temporary and does not harm the birds. Avian Migrate works in a similar way, with the added component of a visual deterrent ingredient that only birds can see.
Use Bird Biology to Your Advantage
Birds are fascinating creatures and can be a joy to have around and some are even good for the environment. But, if you’d like to keep them away from your property, consider leveraging their olfactory senses against them when choosing an appropriate deterrent for your situation. Let Avian Enterprises help you keep your spaces in tip-top shape with Avian Control and Avian Migrate. Click or call 888.868.1982 to learn more today.
Can Birds Smell? Understanding The Role Of Smell In Birds And How They Use It