Re: Trex as a good smeller

[Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

Richard and Jo Cowen wrote:

> The California turkey vulture has a terrific sense of smell

What's the California turkey vulture?  I only know of the turkey vulture 
(_Cathartes aura_) and the California condor (_Gymnogyps californianus_).  
As I mentioned, the turkey vulture has an excellent sens of smell, but I had 
thought other New World vultures do not.  Condors rely on sight, not smell, 
to detect carcasses.

> (so probably many other new World vultures do too).

Apparently not.  Members of the genus _Cathartes_ have a good sense of 
smell, but AFAIK other cathartids/vulturids don't (apart from the king 
vulture, perhaps).

References

Stager, K. (1964). The role of olfaction in food location by the turkey 
vulture (_Cathartes aura_). L.A. Cty. Mus. Contr. Sci. 81: 1-63.

Houston, D.C. (1984). Does the king vulture _Sarcoramphus papa_ use a sense 
of smell to locate food? Ibis 126: 67-69.

Lemon, W.C. (1991). Foraging behavior of a guild of Neotropical vultures. 
Wilson Bull. 103: 698-702.


Cheers

Tim