In the 1990s, scientists began to wonder why many birds eat different varieties of chili pepper without reacting to the pungent taste (painful for many) produced by a substance called capsaicin . Anna Pidgeon of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has concluded that it could be related to the fact that birds have very few taste buds . Without going any further, while the human tongue has around 10,000, chickens only have 24 papillae, and pigeons with 37. "We do not know if the birds do not perceive the spiciness, but what is clear is that it does not affect them like us ", clarifies Pidgeon, adding that even though some birds perceive all the basic flavors they seem to have different chemical reactions against them.
This is an advantage for plants, since while the hot pepper acts as an effective defense mechanism against bacteria, fungi, and even prevents the attack of mammals, it does not prevent the dissemination of the seeds by birds .
