⏾ ོ

“We decided to make the most of a quiet afternoon by ringing some Manx Shearwater chicks. With over 15,000 pairs on the island, most with a single chick down a single burrow, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was an easy, straightforward task. But the burrows which the Manxies excavate can be deep and awkward, and a few inconsiderately placed rocks and right angle bends in the tunnels made finding the chicks an epic task. Some of them are becoming quite fat but still have another 25 or so days left in their burrows before they make their first flight. The grey down which covers their body like a giant fleece insulates them well from the damp conditions in their burrow. We take wing length measurements as well as weights and this allows us to calculate their age and how well they are being fed. This particular chick is around 50 days old, and weighed over half a kilogram!” © Richard Brown

no, but seriously...

sniffing birds has it's place...only do so when appropriate & safe for both parties, of course. (& also only handle wild birds with the necessary permits & supervision!)

but hell if sniffing birds when i have them in the hand hasn't helped me identify infections that weren't immediately visible or otherwise apparent, on multiple occasions, both in the field & with wildlife rescue/captive birds (different infection types also have varying odours)!

& also for detecting potentially weird behaviours, inadequate parental care, & even a penchant for using rancid nesting materials (shoutout to that one male penguin who liked to drag dead fish, other bird carcasses, & even KILLED OTHER SMALLER BIRDS to line their nest, to the point where we had to pull the chick for it's safety/survival from being infested/killed by maggots & who knows what else...)