Zebra Finches and cognition

Healy, Susan D.; Haggis, Olivia; Clayton, Nicola S.

doi:10.1071/mu10004

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 105 publications

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“…The zebra finch is a gregarious species that takes well to laboratory conditions. Perhaps this is why the zebra finch has become a popular model species for studying song learning, neurobiology, mate choice, animal personality and cognition ( Healy et al, 2010 , Schuett and Dall, 2009 , Zann, 1996 ). It is also a useful species to test hypotheses regarding the conditions under which animals should use social information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The roles of vocal and visual interactions in social learning zebra finches: A video playback experiment

Guillette

Healy

2017

Behavioural Processes

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The roles of vocal and visual interactions in social learning zebra finches: A video playback experiment

Guillette

Healy

2017

Behavioural Processes

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“…Here we investigated the consequences of variable dietary protein on the duration of growth and associative learning abilities the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata, an important model of vertebrate neural development [26] and learning [27] . Associative learning is a basic aspect of cognition that may influence success in major life activities [28] , so we expect that retaining this cognitive capacity under adverse developmental conditions would be an adaptive priority [29] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Getting a Head Start: Diet, Sub-Adult Growth, and Associative Learning in a Seed-Eating Passerine

2011

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Developmental stress, and individual variation in response to it, can have important fitness consequences. Here we investigated the consequences of variable dietary protein on the duration of growth and associative learning abilities of zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, which are obligate graminivores. The high-protein conditions that zebra finches would experience in nature when half-ripe seed is available were mimicked by the use of egg protein to supplement mature seed, which is low in protein content. Growth rates and relative body proportions of males reared either on a low-protein diet (mature seed only) or a high-protein diet (seed plus egg) were determined from body size traits (mass, head width, and tarsus) measured at three developmental stages. Birds reared on the high-protein diet were larger in all size traits at all ages, but growth rates of size traits showed no treatment effects. Relative head size of birds reared on the two diets differed from age day 95 onward, with high-diet birds having larger heads in proportion to both tarsus length and body mass. High-diet birds mastered an associative learning task in fewer bouts than those reared on the low-protein diet. In both diet treatments, amount of sub-adult head growth varied directly, and sub-adult mass change varied inversely, with performance on the learning task. Results indicate that small differences in head growth during the sub-adult period can be associated with substantial differences in adult cognitive performance. Contrary to a previous report, we found no evidence for growth compensation among birds on the low-protein diet. These results have implications for the study of vertebrate cognition, developmental stress, and growth compensation.

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“…Experimental investigation into the cognition of nest building has been focussed on nest building in male zebra finches. Although more widely recognized for their pivotal role in investigations related to birdsong (e.g., neurological, developmental, functional), these birds are a useful laboratory model species for investigating a range of behaviours and cognition (Healy, Haggis, & Clayton, 2010) for several key reasons: zebra finches (a) readily breed and build nests under laboratory conditions with a variety of materials ( Figure 4); (b) have short (90 day) generation times; and (c) immediately recommence nest building when their young have fledged.…”

Section: Model Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Can Nest-Building Birds Teach Us?

Breen¹,

Guillette²,

Healy³

2016

CCBR

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For many years nest building in birds has been considered a remarkable behaviour. Perhaps just as remarkable is the public and scholarly consensus that bird nests are achieved by instinct alone. Here we take the opportunity to review nearly 150 years of observational and experimental data on avian nest building. As a result we find that instinct alone is insufficient to explain the data: birds use information they gather themselves and from other individuals to make nest-building decisions. Importantly, these data confirm that learning plays a significant role in a variety of nest-building decisions. We outline, then, the multiplicity of ways in which learning (e.g., imprinting, associative learning, social learning) might act to affect nest building and how these might help to explain the diversity both of nest-building behaviour and in the resulting structure. As a consequence, we contend that nest building is a much under-investigated behaviour that holds promise both for determining a variety of roles for learning in that behaviour as well as a new model system for examining brain-behaviour relationships. Keywords: nest building, learning, cognition, comparative cognition, birds IntroductionThe notion that learning might be involved in nest building was not lost on inquiring minds in the 19th century, including that of Alfred Russell Wallace . He may have been the first to argue that nest building in birds was not due entirely to instinct: "[t]his point [. . .] is always assumed without proof, and even against proof, for what facts there are, are opposed to it" (Wallace, 1867). Ironically, despite the passing of nearly 150 years, Wallace's statement is as relevant today with regard to both the popular and scientific opinion as it was in his time. Indeed, at present nest building in birds is a behaviour considered to reflect nothing more than genes (Bluff, Weir, Rutz, Wimpenny, & Kacelnik, 2007;Hansell & Ruxton, 2008;Raby & Clayton, 2009;Seed & Byrne, 2010;Zentall, 2006). This view, however, continues to be based largely on untested assumptions, as there are very few data on how birds 'know' what type of nest to build.Helpfully, there are other aspects of birds' nest building that are quite well described. Indeed, several excellent bodies of work provide a broad overview and thorough discussion of this key component of avian reproductive biology (e.g., Collias & Collias, 1984;Deeming & Reynolds, 2015;Hansell, 2000). In brief, there are considerable data on the inter-and intraspecific variation in nest-site selection, composition, morphology, and building techniques. This wealth of data reveal an abundance of diversity in all these features of building: (a) birds build nests in an extraordinary range of different sites (Hansell, 2000); (b) where the individual builders of most species are known, nest building is not necessarily restricted to one of the sexes and contribution by one or both partners varies considerably from species to species (Collias & Collias, 1984;Hansell, 2000); and (c) nest material compos...

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Zebra Finches and cognition

Cited by 17 publications

References 105 publications

The roles of vocal and visual interactions in social learning zebra finches: A video playback experiment

The roles of vocal and visual interactions in social learning zebra finches: A video playback experiment

Getting a Head Start: Diet, Sub-Adult Growth, and Associative Learning in a Seed-Eating Passerine

What Can Nest-Building Birds Teach Us?

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