BEHAVIORAL EVIDENCE FOR INDIVIDUAL RECOGNITION IN JAPANESE-QUAIL

Two studies were performed to explore the ability of male Japanese qua il to discriminate between individual females, and between individual males within a context related to reproduction. Male quail were found to spend more time in front of and looking through a window providing visual access to a female with which they were repeatedly allowed to c opulate, compared to a female with which they had never been allowed t o copulate. In contrast, when males were allowed to freely interact wi th both females, no differences were observed in consummatory measures of sexual behavior. With respect to a male's ability to discriminate between individual males, during repeated pairings between the same ma les, dominant males displayed an elevation in cloacal contact movement s (CCM) compared to their subordinate partners. The difference in CCM between members of each pair developed over several days suggesting th at the males were learning to recognize and respond to one another acc ording to a dominance relationship. During subsequent separate pairing s with both familiar (i.e. the birds previously used during the repeat ed pairings) and novel individuals, both subordinates and dominants we re found to crouch more often, in the presence of novel birds. Subordi nate males were also found to peck more often at a glass partition sep arating them from a novel dominant compared to a familiar dominant. Ma le quail thus appear capable of discriminating between individual fema les and individual males as indicated by behavioral measures relevant to reproduction.