Audiogram of the chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) from 2 Hz to 9 kHz

Evan M. Hill, Gimseong Koay, Rickye S. Heffner, Henry E. Heffner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

The pure-tone thresholds of four domestic female chickens were determined from 2 Hz to 9 kHz using the method of conditioned suppression/avoidance. At a level of 60 dB sound pressure level (re 20 μN/m2), their hearing range extends from 9.1 Hz to 7.2 kHz, with a best sensitivity of 2.6 dB at 2 kHz. Chickens have better sensitivity than humans for frequencies below 64 Hz; indeed, their sensitivity to infrasound exceeds that of the homing pigeon. However, when threshold testing moved to the lower frequencies, the animals required additional training before their final thresholds were obtained, suggesting that they may perceive frequencies below 64 Hz differently than higher frequencies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)863-870
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
Volume200
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2014

Keywords

  • Audiogram
  • Basilar papilla
  • Chicken
  • Infrasound
  • Pigeon

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Physiology
  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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