Discriminative performance of the domestic hen in a visual acuity task.

The performance of 6 domestic hens on a visual acuity task was studied using a spatial discrete-trial conditional discrimination procedure. Gray stimuli and vertical square-wave gratings, ranging in spatial frequency from 1 to 10 cycles per millimeter, were presented in a descending and ascending series of probes. On each trial, either a grating or gray stimulus was presented. Only one spatial frequency of grating was presented during each session. Between probe sessions, training continued at the coarsest grating value. Stimulus discriminability, measured as values of log d, changed with changes in grating spatial frequency for both probe series. Fitted lines described the linear portion of the psychometric functions. Thresholds estimated from the lines generally ranged from four to six cycles per degree, with slightly greater estimates from data from the descending probe series. There were no systematic changes in response bias as a function of grating spatial frequency.