The great tit uses its sense of smell to find its way home. We agree that the great tit will never be called upon to sniff out suspicious luggage at airports, but this species has more flair than we thought. In fact, a study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution by a team of researchers including Linda Nowack, a doctoral student in the Department of Biology and the Centre d'études nordiques at Université Laval, shows that this bird uses olfactory signals to guide its movements. To demonstrate this, the researchers took advantage of the fact that, during the winter, great tits - a common species in Europe - faithfully frequent the feeders that are made available to them. The researchers captured and marked individually 112 specimens which they then moved to two sites: the first one was located at 400 meters from the capture site, and the second at 1500 meters. An important detail: before their release, half of the birds were treated with a product, a zinc sulfate solution, which suppresses their olfaction for two to seven days. The birds in the control group were treated with distilled water.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
