Time‐of‐Day Discriminative Learning: Contrasting the Use of Spatial Compared to Feature Information in Homing Pigeons (Columba livia)

Abstract

This study examined time‐of‐day associative learning to either spatial or feature information in homing pigeons in an open‐field, laboratory setting. Homing pigeons are well known for their navigational abilities and generally have been shown to rely more heavily on spatial than nonspatial cues in recognizing a goal. However, during goal localization, homing pigeons also successfully use nonspatial, feature information. Homing pigeons were divided into two groups and were trained to locate two time‐of‐day dependent, food reward sites using either discriminative spatial or feature information. Because of the importance of the hippocampus in controlling avian memory, we hypothesized that homing pigeons trained with spatial cues would be superior in learning the time‐of‐day discrimination compared to the pigeons trained with feature cues. Indeed, homing pigeons that were trained with spatial information outperformed the pigeons trained with feature information in learning the time‐of‐day discrimination task.

Space, feature, and risk sensitivity in homing pigeons (Columba livia): Broadening the conversation on the role of the avian hippocampus in memory

“…4, in comparison to the pigeons trained to space, the feature-trained birds were more likely to make correct first choices. These findings seem out of alignment with previous bird studies that demonstrate a spatial preference when both cues are simultaneously available (see above), or better performance with spatial, rather than feature, control of goal-directed behavior (Sizemore & Bingman, 2016). This leads to the question, why did discrimination based on space yield worse performance?…”