Categorical colour perception occurs in both signalling and non-signalling colour ranges in a songbird.

ABSTRACT: Although perception begins when a stimulus is transduced by a sensory neuron, numerous perceptual mechanisms can modify sensory information as it is processed by an animal's nervous system. One such mechanism is categorical perception, in which (1) continuously varying stimuli are labelled as belonging to a discrete number of categories and (2) there is enhanced discrimination between stimuli from different categories as compared with equally different stimuli from within the same category. We have shown previously that female zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata) categorically perceive colours along an orange-red continuum that aligns with the carotenoid-based coloration of male beaks, a trait that serves as an assessment signal in female mate choice. Here, we demonstrate that categorical

SUBMITTER: Zipple MN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6545092 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature