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Index of Subjects Yup. Noses are used for two things, well, two major things...breathing and smelling. In general, it is thought that birds don't have a good sense of smell, though I seem to recall some work with vultures that indicated that their sense of smell is better than most birds. Birds in general keep their beaks shut except when vocalizing or feeding/drinking. Most air going to their lungs goes through their nostrils. Now some birds like gannets have no nostrils (this is advantageous to divers, especially plummet divers). Winter air entering the bird for breathing must be warmed to above freezing prior to it getting to the lungs (which are so thin and wet that they would freeze almost instantaneously were this not to happen). In mammals, and I presume birds, this happens in the "nose". If you define the nose more liberally, then the beak is definitely made up of the nose, in part. And the beak is used for feeeding, drinking, display, defense, preening, and likely a few more tasks that I'm just not thinking of off the top of my head. Randy On 05/04/2009, Annabelle Thiebaux <hamst@xplornet.com> wrote: > DO BIRDS HAVE NOSES? > -- Randy _________________________________ RF Lauff Way in the boonies of Antigonish County, NS.
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