Procellariiform chemical signals

The ecological and evolutionary challenges of procellariiform olfaction. In Chemical Signals in Vertebrates, vol. 4, ed. D. Duvall, D. Miiller-Schwarze and R. M. Silverstein, pp. 357-368. New York Plenum. 

Nevitt, G. A., 2001, Mechanisms of olfactory foraging in procellariiform seabirds, in Chemical Signals in Vertebrates, vol. 9, A. Marchlewska-Koj, J. L. Lepri and D. Muller-Schwarze, eds.. New York, Plenum Publishing Corp, pp. 27-33. 

We caution undue optimism regarding the quick discovery of simple chemical signals for an artificial lure system, especially if the candidate lures are compounds that are selected on the basis of human perception. Human perception is likely to be an inappropriate basis for sensory studies of other animals. For example, many procellariiform birds are attracted to the odors of a variety of fish oils and fish by-products (Clark and Shah, 1992). To humans, these food items have a distinctly fishy smell largely attributable to the... 

The possibility of nonspecific chemical signals has scarcely been considered for birds. Given the prominent olfactory anatomy of procellariiforms, however, it should be worth considering. Not only do they possess a uropygial gland, whose lipid secretion has a unique composition at least at the species level, but as in most birds there are also anal glands as well... 

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