Can birds taste?

[sarwal]

How do birds know what to eat and what not to eat? When we put out food they only eat certain things.. is it the taste, smell or sight that puts them off?

[smudge]

They must do if they don't like all the 'fat balls' people on AB bothered to make!

[New Forester]

I'm not sure -- I think they can taste a bit.  I do know that birds are not affected by chilli -- so putting chillies in your bird food is a good way of discouraging squirrels.  Parrots love dried chillies.

[smudge]

Well I'm amazed at that New Forester.

[Richard Head]

Of course birds can taste. That's why most of them spit instead of swallowing.

[Clanad]

The sense of smell and taste in birds is thought to be quite poor. One of the few species of birds known to have a good sense of smell is the turkey vulture. These birds are able to smell decaying tissue from great distances. A sense of smell is important for other birds as well. Ocean-wandering birds such as albatrosses and petrels use smell to find food, nest sites, and perhaps even mates. New Zealand kiwis sniff the ground to find buried worms and grubs in the dark of night. Their nostrils are located near the tip of their long beak. Many birds, however, have a poorly developed sense of smell.

The sense of taste is also questionable. Some researchers believe that birds have a very poor sense of taste, which can be displayed by their persistence of chewing on plastic the same as food items...