Development of behavior in the duck embryo.

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Abstract
Development of behavior in Peking duck embryo was observed from beginning of heart beat (42 hr.) to and including hatching (26-27 days). Components of action patterns such as head-lifting, head-turning, standing, walking, "paddling", wing-beating, eye movement, bill-clapping, swallowing, vocalization, etc. all exhibited themselves prior to hatching. On the sensory side, the embryo seemed to respond to self-induced tactile and proprioceptive stimulation, and to make ocular responses to light. Traditional conceptions of learning seem as inadequate as the conventional concept of innateness in explaining or describing the development of these action patterns. Self-stimulation is stressed as a possibly important process in prenatal behavioral development.