Azimuthal sound localization in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris): III. Comparison of sound localization measures

Sound localization studies have typically employed two types of tasks: absolute tasks that measured the localization of the angular location of a single sound and relative tasks that measured the localization of the angular location of a sound relative to the angular location of another sound from a different source (e.g., in the Minimum Audible Angle task). The present study investigates the localization of single sounds in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) with a left/right discrimination paradigm. Localization thresholds of 8-12° determined in starlings using this paradigm were much lower than the minimum audible angle thresholds determined in a previous study with the same individuals. The traditional concept of sound localization classifies the present experiment as an absolute localization task. However, we propose that the experiment presenting single sounds measured localization of the angular location of the sound relative to a non-acoustic spatial frame of reference. We discuss how the properties of the setup can determine if presentation of single sounds in a left/right discrimination paradigm comprises an absolute localization task rather than a localization task relative to a non-acoustic reference. Furthermore, the analysis methods employed may lead to quite different threshold estimates for the same data, especially in case of a response bias in left/right discrimination. We propose using an analysis method precluding effects of response bias on the threshold estimate.