The volatiles of European bird cherry flowers were enriched by the vacuum headspace method. In the obtained odor concentrate more than 70 compounds were identified by GC/MS. The compounds, which are responsible for the typical odor, are benzaldehyde, 2-phenylethyl alcohol, phenylacetaldehyde, phenylacetonitrile, linalool and a number of nitrogen-containing constituents like indole, methyl anthranilate, anthranilic aldehyde, 2-aminoacetophenone and nicotinic aldehyde. Some compounds have previously not been found in nature (methyl esters of N-formyl-leucine and N-formyl-isoleucine, N-(2-acetylphenyl)-formamide and 1, 4-dihydro-2-methyl-2H-3, 1-benzoxazine). It is remarkable that many of the additionally identified compounds are known as microbial oxidation or degradation products of terpenoids, amino acids or carotenoids.