Do birds smell?

[BobinPeterboro]

Not in an underwing freshness way, but do they have a sense of smell and if so how good is it?

[Stinky Bob]

I was reading a pamphlet from the BTO today which was about checking nesting boxes of garden birds and in it it said that they had a weak sense of smell, however, a quick google brings up this Do birds have a good sense of smell? which says that in some species their sense of smell is quite developed

[Dogs]

Much more developed in some than in other species.... all depends on feeding requirements..

The turkey vulture is belived to have the best sense of smell, even better than that of a dog! Sir David Attenbrough shows the vultures ability when he filmed himself burry a slightly rotted steak in the leaf litter of a jungle floor, totally hidden from above by the canopy... a while later, vultures started apearing and eventually found the meat... unbelievable

[BobinPeterboro]

I wonder if I ought to put clean socks on when I'm photographing my kingfishers then?

[loripo]

They might prefer them soaked in cod liver oil

[Jason Claxton]

Yes birds do smell SB,the New Zealand Kiwi is thought to be one of the better smelling birds,with its very acute sense of smell.

[BobinPeterboro]

That must be why they use it in shoe polish!

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Dogs

Much more developed in some than in other species.... all depends on feeding requirements..

This is so indeed. Some species the sense of smell is little developed but in others, notably procellariformes such as Fulmar, the shearwaters and petrels, all have a very highly developed sense of smell. They are primarily palegic spending most of their lives at Sea so their sense of smell helps them to find food. They have exterior tubular nostrils which lie on the surface of the upper mandible hence known as 'tubenoses'. Also the tubenose helps to excrete salt from stomach, and in the case of Fulmar, to eject contents of oil from stomach (youngsters do this as a defence).

[dunlin]

Originally Posted by Picidae

This is so indeed. Some species the sense of smell is little developed but in others, notably procellariformes such as Fulmar, the shearwaters and petrels, all have a very highly developed sense of smell. They are primarily palegic spending most of their lives at Sea so their sense of smell helps them to find food. They have exterior tubular nostrils which lie on the surface of the upper mandible hence known as 'tubenoses'. Also the tubenose helps to excrete salt from stomach, and in the case of Fulmar, to eject contents of oil from stomach (youngsters do this as a defence).

Just to pick up on what picidae has said here is an interesting article on albatross feeding habits
Wandering Albatross Forages Using Sense of Smell: GPS Tracking Indicates Scent Markers Important to Open Ocean Feeding | Suite101.com
regards mark........

[BobinPeterboro]

Wow, that is a very informative answer to my question. Thank you. I asked the question really to find out if I could have a crafty fag in my bird hide whilst waiting for the photo.