Natural History Wanderings

The BBC  reports

Birds rely on smell to find their bearings when land is out of sight, according to a study.

According to new research, smell plays a key role when birds are navigating long distances over the ocean.

Researchers from the universities of Oxford, Barcelona and Pisa temporarily removed seabirds’ sense of smell before tracking their movements.

They found the birds could navigate normally over land, but appeared to lose their bearings over the sea.

This suggests that they use a map of smells to find their way when there are no visual cues.

Read full article at Smelly clue to bird navigation skills – BBC News