We don’t think of birds as smelly, not in the same way that dogs have a characteristic smell, for example, says David Lindo.
But ask any bird ringer and they will tell you that their mist nests and bird bags have a particular ‘birdy’ smell that could be loosely describe as like bitter, stale perfume.
This smell may emanate from feather dust and the oily secretions from the birds' preen glands, which they use to protect and waterproof their plumage.
Odours are particularly strong in seabirds. Storm petrels famously have a mustiness detectable at close quarters, and Manx shearwaters are also pretty niffy.
Further afield, the anis, relatives of the cuckoos, particularly pong. As adults they have few enemies – presumably their whiff must be off-putting.
Finally, the skin of certain pitohui species, which hail from Papua New Guinea, contain powerful neurotoxic alkaloids that are believed to serve as a chemical defence against ectoparasites or predators like snakes and even humans.
Indeed, Papua New Guineans call them ‘rubbish birds’ due to their toxicity rendering them inedible.
And don't forget the Hoopoe bird - famously known as stink bird
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