The Significance of Antecedent Auditory Experiences on Later Reactions to the ‘Seeet’ Alarm‐Call in Great Tit Nestlings Parus major

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Abstract
Like many other naive young birds, great tit nestlings P. major respond by a persistent cessation-of-begging and immobility response to seeet alarm-call of the species. The experimental antecedents of this reaction were investigated through a systematic manipulation of the auditory environment preceding it. Limiting nestlings'' experience with the seeet-call to either a positive, a neutral or a negative setting led to their normal aversive response to the call being weakened, unaltered and strengthened, respectively. Nestlings brought up in a reversed, artificial environment showed a radical decrease in their aversive response. The seeet-call may owe its aversive effect to the fact that its acoustic character contrasts sharply with the main features of the nestlings'' normal auditory environment. Context-specific experiences were discussed. Some functional implications of the results as related to the behavior of the species in nature were discussed.