It turned out that hummingbirds can not only detect the smells of flowers, but also potentially dangerous places, which
Previously, scientists did not know that hummingbirds couldcapture odors, since the flowers they pollinate are usually not very scented. In addition, these birds are very small and it was difficult to find their olfactory bulbs.
Scientists in a new work showed for the first time howhummingbirds use smells to make decisions about where to look for food and where not to fly. To understand this, the researchers observed 100 hummingbirds choosing between two feeders: one containing sugar water and the other containing sugar water mixed with one of several chemicals whose scent signals the insect's presence. There were no visual differences between the feeders.
For the second feeder, the researchers used formic acid, a protective compound produced by ants, as well as a substance from European bees.
Hummingbirds avoided both chemicalsobtained from ants, especially formic acid. However, they did not react in any way to the smell of the honeybee, which discourages other bees from visiting the flowers.
To make sure that the birds responded to thechemical, and not just afraid of new smells, the researchers conducted an additional test with ethyl butyrate - this is a common food additive, the birds could not encounter it anywhere. But the supplement had no effect on their decision.
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