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Functional Status and Credibility of Avian Olfaction

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Avian Navigation

Part of the book series: Proceedings in Life Sciences ((LIFE SCIENCES))

Abstract

The anatomical and functional characteristics of the avian olfactory system are reviewed. All species examined have olfactory receptor cells, olfactory nerves, and olfactory bulbs at the frontal pole of the brain. The proportional sizes of olfactory structures vary widely among species but even the smallest give typical mammalian responses to odor stimuli. Only the pigeon’s central olfactory pathway has been described, using anatomical and physiological techniques, and it involves many forebrain sites. In addition to pigeon homing, olfaction has been strongly implicated in both foraging and returning to home islands and burrows by various procellariiforms, in homing of the European Swift (Apus apus L.), and in foraging by the Kiwi (Apteryx australis) and the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). The evidence, limited as it still is, clearly supports olfaction as a functioning sense in some birds and as a potential one in all others.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Brain Research Institute, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

    B. M. Wenzel

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  1. B. M. Wenzel
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Biologia Generale, UniversitĂ  di Pisa, Via A. Volta, 6, I-56100, Pisa, Italy

    Floriano Papi

  2. Max-Planck-Institut fĂĽr Verhaltensphysiologie, D-8131, Seewiesen, Germany

    Hans G. Wallraff

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© 1982 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Wenzel, B.M. (1982). Functional Status and Credibility of Avian Olfaction. In: Papi, F., Wallraff, H.G. (eds) Avian Navigation. Proceedings in Life Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68616-0_37

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68616-0_37

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-68618-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-68616-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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