Pigeons can discriminate locations presented in pictures.

Honig et al. (1988) taught pigeons to pick the correct spot in color photographs. The birds saw pictures of places and had to peck the right location to get food.

The team then showed new photos of the same places. They wanted to know if the birds would still pick the right spot even when the view changed.

The pigeons learned fast. They pecked the correct place in every photo.

When brand-new pictures appeared, the birds still chose the right spot. This shows they formed a concept of 'location' rather than just memorizing each picture.

Siegel et al. (1970) had already shown pigeons can form a 'person-present' concept that transfers to new pictures. The 1988 study extends that work to spatial concepts.

Tracey et al. (1974) used colored shapes on keys. Their birds also learned to tell stimuli apart, but the cues were simple colors and forms. Photos are far richer, yet the pigeons still extracted the key feature—location.

Cohen et al. (1990) pushed pigeons to use five features at once. The 1988 paper shows that even with complex real-world photos, birds zero in on the relevant cue and ignore the rest.

If pigeons can extract location rules from messy photos, your learners can too. Use clear photos of real places when you teach prepositions, safety routes, or community navigation. Start with one angle, then add new views. The study says the concept will transfer, saving you trial time and building robust skills.