Abstract
Chickens restrained in the presence of a stuffed hawk remained immobile appreciably longer than controls. The extent to which the hawk influenced susceptibility to immobility also varied as a function of the distance between predator and prey. By systematically manipulating the facial characteristics of the hawk in a second and subsequent experiment, its eyes were identified as being the most significant by way of potentiating the tonic immobility reaction.
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Gallup, G.G., Nash, R.F., Donegan, N.H. et al. The Immobility Response: A Predator-Induced Reaction in Chickens. Psychol Rec 21, 513–519 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394049
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394049