Brown, S.D. and Dooling, R.J. (1987). Perception of bird calls by budgerigars and humans: A multidimensional scaling analysis. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 81, S34.

A combination of behavioral testing and multidimensional scaling analysis was used to test budgerigar perception of a natural vocalization: the "contact" call. For comparison, humans were tested on the same set of sounds. Individual differences multidimensional scaling (SINDSCAL) revealed that budgerigars and humans perceive budgerigar contact calls differently. Acoustic properties of the calls that covary along the dimensions determined by multidimensional scaling were identified. For humans, the absolute pitch of the call was most salient, while, for budgerigars, the spectral shape was most salient. These results are discussed in terms of the basic auditory capabilities of budgerigars and humans and in terms of the coding of information in budgerigar vocal signals.