Domestic pigeons (Columba livia) discriminate between photographs of male and female pigeons

Learn Behav. 2006 Nov;34(4):327-39. doi: 10.3758/bf03193196.

Abstract

We investigated whether pigeons are able to discriminate color photographs of male and female pigeons, using a categorical discrimination procedure. In Experiments 1 and 2B, 10 out of 14 pigeons learned the discrimination. Of these, 5 pigeons showed transfer to novel stimuli, demonstrating the categorical nature of the trained discrimination. Experiment 3 showed that the discriminative behavior was based primarily on the body, as opposed to the head and the neck region. In 1 out of 3 pigeons, the discriminative behavior was maintained by the black-and-white photographs. The results suggest that some pigeons have the ability to discriminate the sex of conspecifics without behavioral cues.

Publication types

  • Portrait
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Behavior, Animal
  • Columbidae
  • Discrimination, Psychological*
  • Female
  • Learning
  • Male
  • Reaction Time
  • Visual Perception*