Japanese quail can learn phonetic categories. Kluender, K. R., Diehl, R., & Killeen, P. Science, 237(4819):1195-7, 1987.
abstract   bibtex   
Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) learned a category for syllable-initial [d] followed by a dozen different vowels. After learning to categorize syllables consisting of [d], [b], or [g] followed by four different vowels, quail correctly categorized syllables in which the same consonants preceded eight novel vowels. Acoustic analysis of the categorized syllables revealed no single feature or pattern of features that could support generalization, suggesting that the quail adopted a more complex mapping of stimuli into categories. These results challenge theories of speech sound classification that posit uniquely human capacities.
@Article{Kluender1987,
  author   = {Keith R. Kluender and RL Diehl and PR Killeen},
  journal  = {Science},
  title    = {Japanese quail can learn phonetic categories.},
  year     = {1987},
  number   = {4819},
  pages    = {1195-7},
  volume   = {237},
  abstract = {Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) learned a category for syllable-initial
	[d] followed by a dozen different vowels. After learning to categorize
	syllables consisting of [d], [b], or [g] followed by four different
	vowels, quail correctly categorized syllables in which the same consonants
	preceded eight novel vowels. Acoustic analysis of the categorized
	syllables revealed no single feature or pattern of features that
	could support generalization, suggesting that the quail adopted a
	more complex mapping of stimuli into categories. These results challenge
	theories of speech sound classification that posit uniquely human
	capacities.},
  keywords = {Animals, Coturnix, Female, Human, Learning, Phonetics, Quail, Reinforcement (Psychology), Speech Perception, Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., P.H.S., 3629235},
}

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