Learning of Absolute and Relative Distance and Direction from Discrete Visual Landmarks by Pigeons (Columba livia)

In an open-field search task, pigeons (Columba livia) were trained to search for a goal located at the midpoint of the hypothetical line connecting two discrete visual landmarks positioned 60 cm apart. In Experiment 1, global orienting cues were absent. After reaching training criteria, pigeons were tested with novel interlandmark distances. Search location and error on test trials suggested pigeons learned relative distance. In Experiment 2, a global orienting cue was present. After reaching training criteria, pigeons were again tested with novel interlandmark distances. Results suggested pigeons learned relative and absolute distances. In Experiment 3, pigeons searched at the midpoint of rotated arrays in both the presence and absence of an orienting cue indicating learning of relative direction. In Experiment 4, pigeons searched in the appropriate goal direction when presented with a single landmark in the presence of the orienting cue but not in its absence indicating learning of absolute direction. Results implicate a stable frame of reference as critical to spatial coding strategies and suggest pigeons are able to code location based on absolute and relative distance and direction from discrete visual landmarks.