Olfactory imprinting as a mechanism for nest odour recognition in zebra finches
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Publication Details
Output type: Journal article
Author list: Caspers B., Hoffman J., Kohlmeier P., Krüger O., Krause E.
Publisher: Elsevier
Publication year: 2013
Journal: Animal Behaviour (0003-3472)
Volume number: 86
Issue number: 1
Start page: 85
End page: 90
Number of pages: 6
ISSN: 0003-3472
URL: http://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id:84880172775
Unpaywall Data
Open access status: closed
Abstract
Olfactory communication is widespread across the animal kingdom but until recently was believed to be unimportant in songbirds. However, recent studies of zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, have found that fledglings are capable of recognizing their own nest based on olfactory cues alone. This raises the important question of whether this knowledge is learned or innate. To discriminate between these two hypotheses, we experimentally fostered single eggs into foreign, unrelated broods, and subsequently tested the odour preferences of the respective fledglings. In contrast to a previous study in which individuals were fostered as chicks, we found a strong preference for the host nest odour. This suggests that olfactory imprinting occurs and is based on a familial template learnt within a narrow time window around hatching. © 2013 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Keywords
Avian olfaction, Early learning, Familial imprinting, Songbird, Taeniopygia guttata, Zebra finch
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