Our review article on the methods used to study how birds use their sense of smell to locate food has just been published! 🎉 We analyzed 80 experiments on this fascinating topic and found that, in most cases, birds were attracted to odour sources. However, we also identified significant biases in the species studied, the regions where research was conducted, and other aspects of study design. To address these gaps, we provide recommendations for improving future experiments.

Some key findings from our review:

• Species bias: Great Tits, Blue Tits, and Blue Petrels are the most studied species, but most studies focus on a single species at a time, with comparative studies being surprisingly rare.
• Experiment type: Most studies relied on behavioural experiments, while only one study combined behavioural, morphological, and physiological approaches.
• Behavioural responses: In the majority of experiments, birds showed significant behavioural changes—either attraction to or avoidance of the odour stimulus. Only 11 out of 80 studies reported no behavioural changes, suggesting that most birds can indeed adjust their behaviour in response to food-related odours.

This work highlights exciting progress in understanding avian olfaction while also emphasizing the need for broader, more comparative, and integrative studies. We hope it inspires new research in this field! 🐦👃