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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Capsaicin Effects On Consumption Of Food By Cedar Waxwings And House Finches.­, Donald Norman, Russell Mason, Larry Clark Jan 1992

Capsaicin Effects On Consumption Of Food By Cedar Waxwings And House Finches.­, Donald Norman, Russell Mason, Larry Clark

Larry Clark

Capsaicin effects on consumption of food by Cedar Waxwings and House Finches.­ Capsaicinoids (e.g., N-vanillyl-n-nonamide. norcapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin; Hoffman 1983) are aromatic am­ ides and the pungent principles in Capsicum peppers. Although these substances are strong chemical irritants for most mammals (e.g.. Rozin et a!. 1979), the available data suggest that they are inoffensive to some birds. For example. European Starlings (Sturn us vulgaris) and Rock Doves (Columba Iivia) are unresponsive to these compounds, even when con­ centrations greatly exceed those which mammals avoid (Szolcsanyi et al. 1986; Mason et a!.. in press).


Taxonomic Differences Between Birds And Mammals In Their Responses To Chemical Irritants, Russell Mason, Larry Clark, Pankaj Shah Jan 1992

Taxonomic Differences Between Birds And Mammals In Their Responses To Chemical Irritants, Russell Mason, Larry Clark, Pankaj Shah

Larry Clark

Ninety-five products are registered with the u.s. Environmental Pro­ tection Agency as bird damage control chemicals, but 38 (40%) are non­ lethal chemical repellents (Eschen and Schafer, 1986). Of these products, the active ingredients in 27 (71%) are methiocarb (a physiologic repellent that acts through food avoidance learning) or polybutene (a tactile repel­ lent). In general, chemical repellents are effective either because of aversive sensory effects (irritation), or because of post-ingestional ma­ laise (sickness). If the former, then chemicals are usually stimulants of trigeminal pain receptors (i.e., undifferentiated free nerve endings) in the nose, mouth, and eyes (Mason and Otis, …