Pattern recognition and active vision in chickens

Recognition of objects or environmental landmarks is problematic because appearance can vary widely depending on illumination, viewing distance, angle of view and so on. Storing a separate image or 'template' for every possible view requires vast numbers to be stored and scanned, has a high probability of recognition error and appears not to be the solution adopted by primates. However, some invertebrate template matching systems can achieve recognition by 'active vision' in which the animal's own behaviour is used to achieve a fit between template and object, for example by repeatedly following a set path. Recognition is thus limited to views from the set path but achieved with a minimal number of templates. Here we report the first evidence of similar active vision in a bird, in the form of locomotion and individually distinct head movements that give the eyes a similar series of views on different occasions. The hens' ability to recognize objects is also found to decrease when their normal paths are altered.