A pellet feeder for the birds.

An alternative means of delivering food to pigeons in operant conditioning research is described. The feeder allows greater control of the amount of food delivered and reduces the amount of time necessary for the pigeon to collect the food. It is possible to extend the length of experimental sessions due to the reduction of food intake. Data obtained using the pellet feeder indicated that the control of responding is comparable to that observed with the standard grain-magazine feeder.