The role of preen oil and body odour in birds

While the roles of auditory and visual cues in avian communication have been studied extensively, the importance of olfactory cues has been largely overlooked. During preening, birds extract a waxy secretion called preen oil from their uropygial gland (or preen gland) and smear it over their plumage. Preen oil is an important source of avian body odour and may have perfuming (or odour-related) roles, in addition to other roles like plumage maintenance and waterproofing. In this thesis, I explored the odour-based roles of preen oil, notably olfactory crypsis against predators and olfactory intraspecific communication, including mate choice and parent-offspring recognition.