Apparently you can soak your birdseed in chilli oil to keep away rodents like rats or squirrels - because obviously birds can't detect capsaicin and mammals can.
I like to imagine all Rito food is unbearably hot, even deserts, because they soak all their food stores in hot pepper oil. They have to import in most of their fresh produce because not much grows in Hebra beyond wheat and hot peppers, so they probably jar or dry a lot to preserve it, so everything in the food stores is just completely infused with pepper oil. They can't taste it and it keeps out critters.
Not that many mice or rats dare enter a village full of enormous birds of prey anyway. But it keeps out the bugs and beasties that do dare.
But unfortunately it sucks for any other races who visit the Village because every single food item burns their tongue off. And the Rito just think it's hilarious to watch.


















