Cariñosos aromas

El sentido del olfato podría tener un importante papel en el apareamiento de las aves. En esta dirección parece apuntar un artículo publicado en Scientific American. El resumen comienza así:

"Scientists long believed that birds had little if any sense of smell. That view shifted toward the end of the 20th century, as researchers gradually learned that certain species, such as vultures, kiwis and albatrosses, use olfaction to help find food, and homing pigeons seem to rely at least partly on their nostrils to find their lofts.

New evidence suggests that the sense of smell may play an important role in another vital activity for birds: mating. Researchers report in the journal Behavioural Brain Research) that blocking the nostrils of male Japanese quail before they copulate disrupts the activity of a master gene, called c-Fos, expressed in the brain during sexual reproduction".

Hay científicos bien retorcidos. Más aquí.