Dooling, R.J. (1977). Perception of auditory temporality in several species of birds. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 61, S62.
Thresholds for the detection of gaps in noise, temporal
integration, and difference limens for duration were measured in
several species of birds using avoidance conditioning and the method
of limits procedures previously described for the parakeet. The
threshold for the detection of gaps in white noise bursts is about
3–5 msec for the house finch. Temporal integration functions showing
absolute threshold as a function of tone duration for field sparrows
and parakeets reveal a "time constant" of 200–300 msec. Difference
limens for duration obtained at six durations of a 2.86-kHz tone
for the parakeet show Weber fractions,
D/D,
in the range of 0.10–0.20. These data are compared to similar data
available for the human and the results of these experiments are
discussed in relation to the characteristics of avain vocalizations and
the role of hearing in song learning and song production. [Work
supported by NSF grant BNS75-19431.]