Myth of the Bad-Nose Birds

Blame Audubon. Animal behaviorist Timothy Roper says that the renowned naturalist propagated die-hard misunderstandings of birds’ sense of smell. In 1826, he published on the habits of the turkey vulture “with a View to Exploding the Opinion Generally Held of Its Extraordinary Power of Smelling.” Observers as far back as Aristotle had claimed that various vultures sniff their way to prey.