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Bird Scent: It's All About the Bacteria
Fragrant microbes help some birds attract mates!
© Becky Matsubara
Many birds have an excellent sense of smell. And the odors that birds make can act as mating signals for some species. The source for many of these scents, says biologist Danielle Whittaker, are the microbes that live in birds’ preen oil, which they use to keep their feathers in good condition. Danielle and other scientists are studying how the genes that regulate birds' immune systems might help control these microbes. This research could help connect the birds’ genetics to the scents they use to attract mates. Learn more in Danielle Whittaker’s new book, The Secret Perfume of Birds: Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent.
BirdNote®
Bird Scent: It's All About the Bacteria
Written by Conor Gearin
This is BirdNote.
[Birdsong: ML 305942]
You might be surprised to learn that many birds have a sense of smell. And the odors that birds make can act as mating signals for some species.
The source for many of these scents, says biologist Danielle Whittaker, are the microbes that live in birds’ preen oil, which they use to keep their feathers in good condition.
Danielle Whittaker: And it turns out that the uropygial gland, which is the gland that secretes preen oil, is home to a really diverse community of bacteria. And a lot of those bacteria are odor-producing.
So when birds rub preen oil into their feathers, they’re also spreading fragrant, beneficial bacteria. For birds such as Dark-eyed Juncos, the pungent odors can help attract potential mates.
[Dark-eyed Junco song, ML 27611071, 0:16-0:18]
Danielle and other scientists are studying how the genes that regulate birds' immune systems might help control these microbes.
Danielle Whittaker: There’s some really interesting work about immune system genes, such as the major histocompatibility complex, which is involved in regulating parasites and bacteria that come into the body. It’s thought that that gene complex will affect the bacteria you carry, which will affect your scent. So I feel like this has the potential to be this unifying set of information to help us understand how we get from animals’ immune system to the bacteria they carry, to the scent that they use to attract other individuals.
Learn more in Danielle Whittaker’s book, The Secret Perfume of Birds: Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent. Find a link on our website, BirdNote DOT org. I’m Conor Gearin.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Content Director: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. ML 305942 recorded by W. Hershberger, and Dark-eyed Junco ML 27611071 recorded by J. McGowan.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2022 BirdNote July 2022
Narrator: Conor Gearin
ID# whittakerd-02-2022-07-22 whittaker-02
