The spatial distribution of pigeons' target detection.

Pigeons were trained to detect briefly-presented targets that appeared on a flatscreen computer display. Pecks were detected by a touchscreen mounted on the display. Those that were directed at the targets produced grain reward whereas pecks at locations in which the target had not appeared did not produce reward. A "behavioral fixation" procedure was used to ensure that the pigeons were facing the display when the target was presented. In general, the probability of detecting a target was highest in the region surrounding the fixation point and decreased as the target appeared more peripherally, both horizontally and vertically. These results show that pigeons' ability to detect targets in a frontal plane is not uniform.