Do birds smell?

Answer 1

One type of bird, the hoatzin of South America is sometimes called the stink hen because of their stench. It feeds on leaves, and basically lets them rot inside its stomach so they break down enough for the bird to digest. Yum.

But I suspect you are asking if birds have an olfactory sense.

The answer is, it depends on the species of bird. A sense of smell isn't nearly as important to most birds as it is for say mammals, as when they are flying they tend to be moving too quickly and far enough from the source of any odors that it doesn't provide much use for them. It doesn't really allow them to detect predators, and they can't track down trails while they are flying.

So most birds have a rather limited sense of smell. Great horned owls are purported to have virtually no sense of smell at all, and the fact that they will readily dine on skunks attests to this.

Other species of bird, however, have very keen senses of smell. Most vultures and condors have finely tuned olfactory senses that allows them to pick up the drifting scent of a rotting carcass from miles away - even if it is covered with vegetation or otherwise hidden from sight. As you can imagine, this is very useful to a scavenger - although if I were sticking my head into the innards of a rotting capybara, I'm not sure I'd count a keen sense of smell as an asset.

The kiwi of New Zealand is another bird with a keen sense of smell. Their nostrils are on the tip of its beak (unusual for birds), and it uses it to probe into the soil and actually sniff around in search of worms and other burrowing critters that make up most of its diet.

Answer 2

This question can be interpreted in two ways:

[1] Yes, all birds to have some smell associated with them.


[2] Some birds have an advanced sense of smell to help in searching for food. Most birds hunt based on sight, and a few use their nostrils. Most seabirds - gulls, albatrosses, new world vultures and some other birds like Kiwis and so on have an amazing sense of smell with which they find their food.

Answer 3

Most birds do not have a sense of smell. Therefore, the old addage about not putting a baby bird back in the nest b/c its mother will abandon it, is false. If you find a baby bird & can get it back into its nest DO IT!

That said, vultures DO have a sense of smell. For obvious reasons....

Answer 4

The olfactory lobes in birds are generally small, therefore most have a poor sense of smell. Turkey vultures and kiwis, however, have a pretty good sense of smell. Perhaps this is used for scavenging food.

Answer 5

Not all do. most birds have the very poorest sense or smell or it is lacking all together. The turkey vulture however (other vultures too) have a very acute sense of smell and can detect the smell of a rotting carcase quite a few miles away.

Answer 6

I know the pigeons in Downtown Boston are nasty... I never have gotten close enough to smell them though. They look all diseased and filthy I bet they smell rank.

Answer 7

yes, very badly if u dont keep their surroundings cleaned and disinfected. and if ur asking can birds smell, yes they can they do have openings in their beaks for air passage.

Answer 8

kiwis smell, but it is one of the few ecxeptions. that is if u mean the sense of smelling, not that stench if u walk in a chicken farm

Answer 9

some of them do smell

Answer 10

Are you asking if they are smelly? Not as a general rule
Are you asking if they are able to smell? No, they can't.