Colour vision and background adaptation in a passerine bird, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata).

ABSTRACT: Today, there is good knowledge of the physiological basis of bird colour vision and how mathematical models can be used to predict visual thresholds. However, we still know only little about how colour vision changes between different viewing conditions. This limits the understanding of how colour signalling is configured in habitats where the light of the illumination and the background may shift dramatically. I examined how colour discrimination in zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is affected by adaptation to different backgrounds. I trained finches in a two-alternative choice task, to choose between red discs displayed on backgrounds with different colours. I found that discrimination thresholds correlate with stimulus contrast to the background. Thresholds are low, and in agree

SUBMITTER: Lind O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5043321 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature