Tits use amodal completion in predator recognition: a field experiment

Animal Cognition
Katerina Tvardíková, Roman Fuchs

Abstract

Amodal completion enables an animal to perceive partly concealed objects as an entirety, and to interact with them appropriately. Several studies, based upon either operant conditioning or filial imprinting techniques, have shown that various animals (both mammals and birds) can perform amodal completion. Before this study, the use of amodal completion by untrained animals in the recognition of objects had not been considered. Using two feeders, we observed in a field experiment the reaction of tits to the torso of a sparrowhawk (partly occluded or an 'amputated' dummy) in two different treatments (sparrowhawk torso vs. complete dummy pigeon; and torso vs. complete dummy sparrowhawk). It is clear that the birds considered the two torso variants as predators and kept away from both of them when the second feeder offered a 'pigeon' instead. On the other hand, when a 'complete sparrowhawk' was present on the second feeder, the number of visits to the occluded torso remained low; while the number of visits to the amputated one increased threefold. Birds risked perching near what was clearly an amputated torso; while the fear of a "hiding" (occluded) torso remained unchanged, when the second feeder did not provide a safe alternative...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 28, 2013·Animal Cognition·Lenka PolačikováTomáš Grim
Dec 31, 2011·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Luca TommasiGiorgio Vallortigara
May 21, 2016·Cognition·Irene M Pepperberg, Ken Nakayama
Feb 22, 2017·Frontiers in Physiology·I-Rong Lin, Chuan-Chin Chiao

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