PRENATAL AUDITORY EXPERIENCE DIRECTS SPECIES TYPICAL PERCEPTUAL RESPONSIVENESS IN BOBWHITE QUAIL CHICKS (COLINUS-VIRGINIANUS)

The present study examined the role of the relationship between pre- a nd postnatal stimulus cues in directing perceptual preferences of bobw hite quail chicks. Bobwhite quail were exposed to either prenatal audi tory or prenatal auditory-visual stimulation. Both prenatal auditory a nd auditory-visual stimulation resulted in accelerated responsiveness to combined postnatal auditory-visual cues. However, whether or not su bjects displayed accelerated perceptual responsiveness depended on the relationship between the nature of the pre- and postnatal auditory st imuli used. These results demonstrate the salience of auditory cues in directing early postnatal perceptual behavior in precocial birds and help to explicate why prior research in this area has found that augme nted prenatal sensory stimulation can result in either accelerated or decelerated patterns of perceptual functioning.