Do birds have a good sense of smell?

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The nocturnal Kakapo one of the nine bird species in the study probably recognizes fruit according to their aroma. The same applies to the brown kiwi of New Zealand. Credit: Don Merton
The nocturnal Kakapo, one of the nine bird species in the study, probably recognizes fruit according to their aroma. The same applies to the brown kiwi of New Zealand. Credit: Don Merton
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The sense of smell might indeed be as important to birds as it is to fish or even mammals. This is the main conclusion of a study by Silke Steiger (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology) and her colleagues. The sense of smell in birds was, until quite recently, thought to be poorly developed. Recent behavioural studies have shown that some bird species use their sense of smell to navigate, forage or even to distinguish individuals.


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