Titel (eng)

Songbirds use scent cues to relocate to feeding sites after displacement: An experiment in great tits (Parus major)

Autor*in

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

Verlag

Frontiers Media Sa

Beschreibung (eng)

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.

Sprache des Objekts

Englisch

Datum

2022

Rechte

Dieses Werk bzw. dieser Inhalt steht unter einer
CC BY 4.0 - Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 International Lizenz.

CC BY 4.0 International

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Klassifikation

Zinc-Sulfate Treatment; Olfactory Navigation; Neural Activity; Behavior; Recognition; Orientation; Irrigation; Dominance; Pigeons; Systems

Mitglied in der/den Collection(s) (1)