title: Audiogram of the kea parrot, Nestor notabilis.
abstract: Vocal communication requires the sender to produce a sound, which transmits through the environment and is perceived by the receiver. Perception is dependent on the quality of the received signal and the receiver's frequency and amplitude sensitivity; hearing sensitivity of animals can be tested using behavioural detection tasks, showing the physical limitations of sound perception. Kea parrots (Nestor notabilis) were tested for their ability to hear sounds that varied in terms of both frequency and amplitude by means of a simple auditory detection task. Audiograms for three kea were similar, with the region of highest sensitivity (1-5 kHz) corresponding to the frequency of the highest amplitude in kea calls. Compared with other parrots and other bird taxa, the overall shape of the kea audiogram follows a similar pattern. However, two potentially interesting differences to the audiograms of other birds were found: an increase in sensitivity at approximately 12 kHz and a decreased sensitivity to frequencies below 1 kHz.
authors.affiliation: Comparative Cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Raoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwing
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Ximena J
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parsons
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D010311:Parrots; D014828:Vocalization, Animal