Biology
The Role of Chemical Cues in Parent–Offspring Recognition in Burrow-Nesting Seabirds
Quick fact
Studies on species like the Manx shearwater and European storm petrel show that parents can distinguish their own chick from a stranger using only its odor, even when vision and sound are blocked. This chemical recognition is fine-tuned enough to work in the dark, crowded conditions of a burrow colony.
Why this is interesting
In the bustling dark colony of thousands of petrels, a parent returns from the sea—how does it find its own chick in the pitch-black burrow? It's not by sight or sound, but by a sense we often underrate: smell.