Do birds have taste buds? Can birds taste their food?

Humans have over 10,000 taste buds on their tongue. Humans can taste food that is sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and so on.

A bird has taste buds in the roof, floor, and base of the tongue. 

Birds have significantly fewer taste buds than humans. 

A parrot has around 400 taste buds and a chicken has just 24 taste buds. 

Even though birds don’t have very many taste buds, they are able to differentiate between a variety of tastes.

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM