Abstract
Pecking at the food key was recorded for 4 pigeons given restricted access to food. The access period was set at a fixed time in a light-dark cycle, continuous dark, or continuous light. The pecking activity occurred a few hours before onset of the access period in all three conditions. When the bird was again given free access to food after being released from restricted access, its pecking rhythm free-ran in the continuous dark. The initial phase of the rhythm coincided with the onset of the food-anticipatory pecking in the previous condition. These results suggest that the bird anticipated food access, based on its biological clock mechanism. When the access period was set in the dark phase of the light-dark cycle, anticipatory pecking did not occur, although pecking actually occurred during the access period. The pigeon’s activity is reduced during the dark phase of the light-dark cycle. Therefore, the bird’s activity level was probably too low to shape the anticipatory response, even if the access period was stored in memory in the biological clock.
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Abe, H., Sugimoto, S. Food-anticipatory response to restricted food access based on the pigeon’s biological clock. Animal Learning & Behavior 15, 353–359 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205040
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205040