Abstract
We used a psychophysical method to examine the ability of three corvid species to discern fine-grained spatial information. Nutcrackers, pinyon jays, and scrub-jays were required to discriminate the distance between two landmarks on a computer screen in an operant chamber. All three species were able to discriminate between arrays that differed by 20 mm; the discrimination gradients for scrub-jays and pinyon jays were sharper than those for nutcrackers, however. The results suggest that differences in spatial memory among these species are not related to differences in fine-grained perception.
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This research was supported by NSF Grant IBN 9421807 to the second author. We thank Chris S. for his assistance with this project.
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Gibson, B.M., Kamil, A.C. The fine-grained spatial abilities of three seed-caching corvids. Animal Learning & Behavior 33, 59–66 (2005). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196050
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196050