Behavioural lateralization in Budgerigars varies with the task and the individual.
Handedness/footedness and side biases are a well-known phenomenon in many animals, including humans. However, these so-called biases have mostly been studied at the population level--individual biases have received less attention, especially with regard to consistency over different tasks. Here we i...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3855779?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818135527469088768 |
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| author | Ingo Schiffner Mandyam V Srinivasan |
| author_facet | Ingo Schiffner Mandyam V Srinivasan |
| author_sort | Ingo Schiffner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Handedness/footedness and side biases are a well-known phenomenon in many animals, including humans. However, these so-called biases have mostly been studied at the population level--individual biases have received less attention, especially with regard to consistency over different tasks. Here we investigate behavioral lateralization in 12 male Budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus, a social parrot inhabiting the Australian bushlands. We performed 5 types of experiments to investigate lateralization, in tasks that involved climbing onto a perch, or landing on perches arranged in various configurations. The birds displayed highly significant, individually varying biases. The bias displayed by any particular individual varied with the task, in strength as well as polarity. Analysis of the data revealed that the preferred foot used for climbing did not coincide with the foot that was used while landing. Thus, landing choices are probably not determined by foot bias. Furthermore, these individual preferences were overridden completely when a bird had to perform a task simultaneously with another bird. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:25:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-21172eb8c14e4d28bc2dfb68059a0562 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:25:56Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-21172eb8c14e4d28bc2dfb68059a05622022-12-22T01:13:08ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-01812e8267010.1371/journal.pone.0082670Behavioural lateralization in Budgerigars varies with the task and the individual.Ingo SchiffnerMandyam V SrinivasanHandedness/footedness and side biases are a well-known phenomenon in many animals, including humans. However, these so-called biases have mostly been studied at the population level--individual biases have received less attention, especially with regard to consistency over different tasks. Here we investigate behavioral lateralization in 12 male Budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus, a social parrot inhabiting the Australian bushlands. We performed 5 types of experiments to investigate lateralization, in tasks that involved climbing onto a perch, or landing on perches arranged in various configurations. The birds displayed highly significant, individually varying biases. The bias displayed by any particular individual varied with the task, in strength as well as polarity. Analysis of the data revealed that the preferred foot used for climbing did not coincide with the foot that was used while landing. Thus, landing choices are probably not determined by foot bias. Furthermore, these individual preferences were overridden completely when a bird had to perform a task simultaneously with another bird.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3855779?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Ingo Schiffner Mandyam V Srinivasan Behavioural lateralization in Budgerigars varies with the task and the individual. PLoS ONE |
| title | Behavioural lateralization in Budgerigars varies with the task and the individual. |
| title_full | Behavioural lateralization in Budgerigars varies with the task and the individual. |
| title_fullStr | Behavioural lateralization in Budgerigars varies with the task and the individual. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Behavioural lateralization in Budgerigars varies with the task and the individual. |
| title_short | Behavioural lateralization in Budgerigars varies with the task and the individual. |
| title_sort | behavioural lateralization in budgerigars varies with the task and the individual |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3855779?pdf=render |
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