Keypeck conditioning with reinforcements in two different locations in thrush, tit and sparrow species

Abstract

Twenty-one individuals each of the species great tits (Parus major), blue tits (Parus caeruleus), marsh tits (Parus palustris), blackbirds (Turdus merula), songthrushes (Turdus philomelos), tree sparrows (Passer montanus) and house sparrows (Passer domesticus) were conditioned to a keypeck response by means of food reinforcement. The site where the reward was given was then changed. The number of reinforcements were then counted until the keypeck response followed immediately (within 10 seconds) on three successive occasions, and a comparison was made between species. Of the species studied the blackbird needed significantly fewer instances of reinforcement in order to re-establish an immediate keypeck response. A significant difference was also seen between the performance of the great tit and marsh tit, as well as between the blue tit and the marsh tit. No significant difference was found between the performance of the house sparrow and the tree sparrow.