Title
Songbirds use scent cues to relocate to feeding sites after displacement: An experiment in great tits (Parus major)
Language
English
Description (en)
Air-borne chemicals are highly abundant sensory cues and their use in navigation might be one of the major evolutionary mechanisms explaining the development of olfaction in animals. Despite solid evidence for the importance of olfaction in avian life (e.g., foraging or mating), the importance of chemical cues in avian orientation remains controversial. In particular, songbirds are sorely neglected models, despite their remarkable orientation skills. Here we show that great tits (Parus major) require olfactory cues to orientate toward winter-feeding sites within their home range after displacement. Birds that received an olfaction-depriving treatment were impaired in homing. However, the return rates between olfaction-deprived and control individuals did not differ. Birds with decreased perception of olfactory cues required more time to return to the winter feeding sites. This effect became apparent when the distance between the releasing and capture sites was greater. Our results indicate that even in a familiar environment with possible visual landmarks, scent cues might serve as an important source of information for orientation.
Keywords (en)
Zinc-Sulfate Treatment; Olfactory Navigation; Neural Activity; Behavior; Recognition; Orientation; Irrigation; Dominance; Pigeons; Systems
DOI
10.3389/fevo.2022.858981
Author of the digital object
Katharina  Mahr  (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna)
Herbert  Hoi  (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna)
Linda  Nowack  (Université Laval)
Felix  Knauer  (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna)
Format
application/pdf
Size
658.6 kB
Licence Selected
CC BY 4.0 International
Description or Additional Data (de)
Copyright © 2022 Tóth, Mahr, Ölveczki, Őri and Lendvai.
Type of publication
Article
Name of Publication (en)
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Pages or Volume
10
Volume
10
Publisher
Frontiers Media Sa
Publication Date
2022
Content
Details
Object type
PDFDocument
Format
application/pdf
Created
26.03.2024 10:44:11
This object is in collection
Metadata
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Vetmeduni Vienna) | Veterinärplatz 1 | A-1210 Vienna | Austria | T +43 1 25077-0