why do newly hatched ducklings follow the first large moving object that they see, be it their mum or anyboby?

Question

do the ducklings really follow the first moving object they see when they hatch? is it really true?

Answer 1

It's actually not the first large moving object there are other parameters for the selection of what they follow. But it is instinctual and it because usually the first thing they see in the wild is one of their parents. Since the ducklings are unable to fly the need to rely on their parents to take them to water if a predator appears for protection.

Answer 2

A specialized type of "programmed learning" seen in many higher animals is a process known as "imprinting". The first experimental analysis of imprinting was done by Konrad Lorenz on geese hatchings( Figure 18). The first job of a gosling is to identify it's mom so they can follow her should she start to wander off. Goslings are pre-programmed to follow the first object producing the species specific call. This object is then identified as "mom". It doesn't matter what the object is, just as long as it emits the proper call and moves. Researchers have had fun with this effect by imprinting ducklings on a model train that emitted quacks from the speaker. Ducklings would dutifully follow the train just as if it were mom.

Another characteristic of imprinting is that this specialized learning must occur within a certain time-window known as the "critical period". Ducklings that are first exposed to mom at 1 week of age will not follow here, since that is outside the critical period for learning the task.

Song learning in some birds (doves, for example), is entirely innate. Young doves raised without exposure to adult song will sing the adult song perfectly the first time they try it. Most other birds, on the other hand, need exposure to the adult song during a narrowly-defined critical period in order to imprint and learn the proper song.

Swamp sparrows and song sparrows have a species-specific song (Figure 19). The swamp sparrow song consists of a trill of nearly identical syllables delivered at a constant rate. Song sparrows produce a more complex song consisting of a trill followed by a melodious note phrase. Young swamp sparrows raised in the absence of adults sing a still produce a trill, but of less complex syllables (the innate song). Similarly, song sparrows produce an innate song that has some of the characteristics of the normal song.

Researchers have raised birds with and without the experience of hearing their species-specific song (Figure 20). Regardless of the chicks' experience, young birds all sing a variety of "call notes". In figure 20, each of the symbols represents a different musical motif. Note that the experience of the animal doesn't affect this aspect of song development. If, however, a hatchling hears the adult song within the critical period (10 - 30 days in this example), they go through babbling and subsong stages differently so that, by the time they reach adulthood, their full song is very similar to the song they heard during the critical period. In this example, there are slight changes in the song motifs wpe20.jpg (910 bytes) and wpe21.jpg (1018 bytes). These song structures are similar to the original and differ only in timing, the range of notes used, or some other minor feature.

These slight differences in song structure impart individuality to the songs, or dialects (Figure 21, 23). The slight differences allow neighboring birds to recognize one another as individuals. Birds stake out their territories by singing. After the territories are agreed upon, it is to everybody's advantage to recognize neighbors. This way, a bird that hears a neighbor's call knows that he doesn't have to pay special attention to the situation since the territorial boundaries have already been agreed upon. Only when a stranger enters the territory and begins to sing does the male have to give it special attention (by chasing the interloper off).

Note that some of the song motifs have a genetic component. The motif wpe22.jpg (714 bytes), for example, shows up in birds under both experimental conditions. Those with no song experience, however, sing a slightly different musical phrase (wpe23.jpg (714 bytes)) vs. the wpe24.jpg (815 bytes) structure for those with song experience). If the chicks hear the song outside the critical period (before day 10 or after the first month), the lesson doesn't stick. These birds will sing as if they never heard the adult song. Figure 23 shows the sonograms for birds with different experiences during the critical period.

How does a young bird know which noises to pay attention to? Why doesn't a young Robin, for example, pick up the species song of a Blue Jay, or for that matter, a car horn? The answer is that the young bird has some idea of what to listen for - an innate "neural template" that gives the general parameters of the species-specific song (Figure 24). The neural template theory suggests that the songs of unrelated birds (wpe25.jpg (917 bytes)) do not fit the general configuration of genetically predisposed song structures (wpe26.jpg (998 bytes)). The template (or idea of how the species song should sound) is slightly sloppy; allowing for the creation of dialects and individual, bird-specific songs.

Another example of restricted learning is food aversion. Animals that eat a novel food and then get sick will avoid that food from then on. In this example, a Blue Jay has eaten a Monarch butterfly. Monarch butterflies feed on milkweed as larvae and concentrate milkweed chemicals in their skin. These chemicals make anyone who eats a monarch sick (at the very least; the toxins are cardiocides that attack the heart). Birds that have experienced the stomach upset brought on by eating Monarchs will avoid Monarchs from that day on.

Answer 3

yes , but most of the times , the first large moving object they see is their mother.

Answer 4

It's called imprinting, here's and article about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprinting_%28psychology%29

Answer 5

It's instinct. Their brains are programed to tell them to do this when they hatch.

Answer 6

mum only