Wheresoever the Carcase Is

Abstract

The olfactory powers of dogs are not disputed — not so those of birds¹. When Audubon “contradicted all former opinions on the subject” in Edinburgh in 1826, he did so with uneasy feelings expecting to encounter vigorous opposition from those who then accepted the general belief that some birds, at least, have an acute or even a very acute sense of smell. In the biblical view, it seems to be implied that it is the smell of the carcase that attracts the eagles. And although the weight of evidence based on observation and experiment indicates the doubtful character of this opinion, it has by no means been abandoned, even today.

For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Matthew, xxiv, v. 28

I am forced to the conclusion that the animals [ducks, parakeets, pigeons, siskins] I have used… do not possess the faculty of smelling. Walter

Les oiseaux sont donc doués du sens de l’odorat à un degré tout au moins égal à celui du chien, pour ne citer qu’un example connu de tout le monde, et c’est une bien grosse erreur qui subsiste encore dans la littérature scientifique, que celle qui représente ces animaux, pourtant pourvus d’un appareil olfactif très complet, comme incapables de découvrir leur nourriture autrement que par la vue. Raspail