Response timing of budgerigars in a turn-taking task under operant conditioning

Abstract

Turn-taking is universally seen in humans during the completion of various tasks. Turn-taking is also reported in non-human animals in the wild; however, in these cases turn-taking is displayed during innate and stereotypic behaviors, so it may differ from turn-taking seen in humans. In the present study, budgerigars were trained to take turns between two individuals under operant control. Two cages were placed adjacent to one another and each cage contained one bird of a pair. Each bird pecked a response key in turn to produce a peck sequence for a reward. All pairs learned this task and one bird of the pairs often pecked the LED slightly before the signal onset, indicating that the peck was not a mere reaction to the LED signal. Furthermore, the preference examination suggested that a male bird pecked more rapidly while paired with a bird he preferred. Thus, they created a “pseudo” turn-taking sequence similar to humans. In addition, results from the male bird suggests a possibility that peck timing may be influenced by their preference. This study did not show whether birds collectively worked for a goal; however, the partner dependent behavior may be elements to form “true” turn-taking behavior.