Seabirds are able to pick out their relatives from smell alone, according to scientists.


In a "recognition test", European storm petrels chose to avoid the scent of a relative in favor of approaching the smell of an unrelated bird, BBC Nature reported.


The researchers reportedly think this behavior prevents the birds from "accidentally inbreeding".


The study is the first evidence that birds are able to sniff out a suitable mate.


It has been published in the journal Animal Behaviour.


Lead researcher Francesco Bonadonna, from the Centre of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology in Montpellier, France, has told BBC Nature that the birds used smell to recognise and communicate their "genetic compatibility".


Sniffing out a genetically suitable mate is a well-known phenomenon in mammals. But until recently, scientists thought that birds relied on vision and sound when choosing a partner.


According to Dr Bonadonna, the fact that they use odors explains how these birds manage to return to their family colony to breed and avoid mating with a relative.


European storm petrels remain in the colony they are born in throughout their life, so this site is also home to several of their family members.


"These birds are [also] theoretically faithful to one mate for life," the researcher explained to BBC Nature.


"So a bad choice may have catastrophic consequences."


He said that smell or "chemical communication" was "the most ancient and simplest form of communication" in the animal kingdom, adding, "it makes sense that the birds would use it".