title: A probabilistic model of the spatial patterning of pecking in birds : Pilot study with young chicks.
abstract: The pecking behaviour of young chicks (Gallus gallus ) is studied in a situation involving several equivalent targets (mealworms). The question is raised whether the successive pecks are randomly distributed or whether they follow a systematic order based on the spatial arrangement of the targets. Data collected with one-week-old chicks indicate that pecking is compatible with a probabilistic model where the probability to peck at a given place is inversely proportional to the energy used for this particular peck. Pecking by chicks is interpreted as a functional compromise between random sampling and optimal exploitation of the environment.
authors.affiliation: Départment de Psychologie Animale, Institut de Neurophysiologie et Psychophysiologie, C.N.R.S., 13402 Marseille cedex 9 France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bovet
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vauclair