Odour and colour as cues for taste-avoidance learning in domestic chicks

Many prey species use warning colours to protect themselves from predators, with some also emitting a distinctive olfactant when attacked. A study of domestic chicks to determine whether warning odours are as effective in deterring prey as warning colours shows that odours can stimulate taste-avoidance learning in birds. The research, using almond and vanilla odours to act as taste-avoidance cues, also shows that, in some circumstances, odour cues can take precedence over visual ones.