Pigeons’ Use of Landmarks for Spatial Search in a Laboratory Arena and in Digitized Images of the Arena

Abstract

Pigeons were trained in a touch-screen task and in an open-field task to search for a hidden goal using an array of landmarks to guide their search behavior. The touch-screen task presented digitized images of the open field landmarks and environment. Upon completion of training in each task, tests involving the alteration, shifting, or removal of landmarks were conducted to determine which landmark(s) and stimulus feature(s) controlled search behavior. In both tasks, proximity to the goal was an important determinant of landmark control. The overall patterns of landmark control showed both similarities and differences in the two tasks. No evidence was obtained that learning about the arrangement of landmarks and goal transferred across the two tasks.