Read more: 鈥�Instant Expert 34: Bird senses鈥�
Of all the senses, the area I consider most fascinating is that of emotions. Do birds have emotions? Do they sense pain and pleasure? Some have argued that non-humans cannot experience such emotions as we do because they do not possess consciousness. This is a thorny issue, not least because consciousness is ill defined and extremely difficult to measure in any objective, scientific way. Nevertheless, there is now some evidence that birds do have emotions. Many, for example, maintain long-term pair bonds, and there are several anecdotal accounts of separated partners being reunited after a long period of absence, accompanied by behaviours 鈥� such as protracted greeting displays 鈥� that certainly imply they have an emotional bond.
Studying the emotional lives of birds may seem like an academic indulgence, but the point about pure research is that one can never anticipate how it might eventually be useful. We have already seen how the ability of birds to regenerate hair cells in the inner ear provides the potential to conquer certain forms of human deafness. In general, the lack of information on bird senses means that this is an area of huge opportunities, ripe for exploration. Our understanding of the sense of smell in small birds is almost negligible, for example, yet by using fMRI to observe brain activity, we could potentially screen dozens of species in a relatively short time to see whether and how much they respond to different odours. fMRI and other new technologies look set to change the way we think about the senses 鈥� and not just those of birds.
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We are obsessed by our own senses, but understanding them is a challenge. Looking at those of other animals may provide insights. Increasingly, biologists interested in the behaviour of animals in the wild look to the anatomy and physiology behind behaviours and how these are connected. It is the combination of whole animal biology, evolutionary thinking and sensory biology that will open up new areas of knowledge. That makes birds the perfect research subjects, since we already know so much about their natural behaviour.
In September 2014, the Royal Society will host a meeting on the sensory biology of birds, an indication that this is at last becoming a hot topic for research.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淪o much to discover鈥�