Abstract
Peking duck embryos respond selectively to the maternal call of their species on the day before hatching, given normal embryonic auditory experience (the sounds emanating from their siblings and themselves which begin late on Day 24 of development). Groups of Peking embryos were subjected to recordings of either the mallard or the Burmese red jungle fowl maternal call beginning on Day 21 of incubation. Responses to these calls were tested on the day before hatching to determine the effects of the prenatal auditory experience. The responses of those birds exposed to the mallard maternal call were neither attenuated nor enhanced (as compared to the controls) when presented that call; those subjects which were exposed to the jungle fowl maternal call later failed to respond to that call or the mallard maternal call.
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This research was supported in part by NIMH Special Fellowship 51117-01 awarded to Dr. Fischer, NIMH Grant 04453 awarded to Dr. Klopfer, and a grant from the North Carolina Academy of Science awarded to the author.
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Reynolds, T.J. Embryonic auditory experience and maternal call recognition. Animal Learning & Behavior 5, 169–173 (1977). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03214073
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03214073