| Abstract: | Sturdy, Phillmore, and Weisman (1999) developed a simple, reliable procedure for classifying zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) song notes into types using exemplar notes from 4 captive North American laboratory colonies. In the present experiment, zebra finches learned true-category song-note discriminations based on Sturdy et al.'s note-type classification faster than pseudocategory discriminations based on random assortments of the same notes. Also, birds in the true-category discrimination were able to sort notes not heard during training into the same categories as the training notes. This evidence suggests that zebra finches accurately sort conspecific song notes into the same open-ended categories as Sturdy et al.'s human observers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
