Asymmetry of visually guided sexual behaviour in adult Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

Abstract

Sexually active adult Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were trained to run across either a left- or a right-turning runway to obtain sexual access to a conspecific of the opposite sex. The birds tested with only their right eye in use showed significantly higher latencies to complete the runway task than the birds tested binocularly and those using the left eye. In all of the three experimental conditions, male birds were significantly faster than their female counterparts. Generally, these findings are compatible with previous evidence for lateralisation in sexually motivated behaviour in birds. However, unlike the previous findings that suggested a loss of lateralisation in pattern discrimination in quail during adulthood, the present study shows that asymmetries in visually guided sexual behaviour persist in adult quail. Thus, our study implies that ontogenetic and lateralised changes within the visual system can be differently organised for different output pathways.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Mediha Yildiz and Burçe Dalcı for their help, and to Caner Özbek for his help and video recordings. Supported by a grant of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to O.G.