![]() Write the numbers (or names) down on separate pieces of paper.To randomize the presentation order, first number (or name) each recording.Naturally, you must test each cat when it is awake and alert! For each cat in the study, play each of the recordings, in randomized order, at least three times (again, more trials are even better).Pick 2-3 examples of bird songs from birds not found in your area.Pick 2-3 examples of local bird songs from your audio CD.You will also need to identify some non-local birds that the cats in your study are unlikely to have encountered.You will need to spend some time identifying local birds that the cats in your study are likely to have encountered.Do your background research so that you are familiar with the terms, concepts, and questions, above.Borror, D.J., "Common Bird Songs Book and Audio CD," ISBN: 0486996093, available from Dover Publications At least 20 domestic cats to test (more is better).To do this experiment you will need the following materials and equipment: , California State Science Fair Abstract. Domestic Cat (Felis catus) Responses to Bird Sounds This project is based on the following 2007 California State Science fair project, a winner of the Science Buddies Clever Scientist Award:.All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Here's an online guide to identifying birds that includes audio clips of calls for many of the birds:Į, 2005.A Field Guide to Western Birds: A Completely New Guide to Field Marks of All Species Found in North America West of the 100th Meridian and North of Mexico. A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. For identifying birds, the Peterson field guides are a valuable resource (various publication dates and titles, typical examples follow):.Predatory Behavior of Cats, Perfect Paws Publishing. ![]() Feral Cat Behavior: Stalking a Mouse, Amby's Feral Cat Information Page. To learn more about predatory behavior in cats, try these webpages:.What bird species pass through your area during migration, and when?.What bird species are native to your area?.Understand the following terms and concepts: To do this project, you should do research that enables you to For example, you might want to select three different local bird calls and three different non-local bird calls to test with each cat.ĭo you think that cats will pay more attention to bird calls that they have heard before? Or perhaps a novel bird call will prove to be more interesting? You can find out for yourself with this experiment. ![]() It's a good idea to have a large sample of cats, like Kelly did, and you may want to select even more bird calls to try. You could do the experiment with a DVD, as Kelly did, or with an audio CD of bird calls, using a portable CD player to play back the sounds. She played the recordings for either three minutes or until the cat made an orienting response to the recording (i.e., seemed to search for the bird, by moving its head or body toward the computer). The order of presentation was randomized for each cat tested. ![]() She used DVD recordings, with both sound and video, and played these test recordings for each of the 32 cats in her study, using a laptop computer. She selected recordings from three different birds, two local, and one non-local. She was curious to find out if her hunch was correct, so she set up an experiment to find out. ![]() Kelly had the impression that her pet cat became alert and turned its head more often when it heard recordings of birds that were found in their area, and less often for birds that were unfamiliar. Kelly's mom was learning to recognize birds and bird calls by watching and listening to a DVD with recordings of birds in the wild. This experiment is based on a 2007 California State Science Fair project by Kelly McGinnis. ![]()
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