Visually guided catching and tracking skills in pigeons: A preliminary analysis.

Researchers taught pigeons to catch a moving dot on a video screen. The birds had to peck the dot as it slid across the monitor.

When the pigeon hit the dot, the screen flashed and grain dropped. This happened many times each day. The path of the dot changed without warning.

The pigeons learned the game in one session. They switched tactics right away when the dot moved faster or curved a new way.

The birds did not freeze or keep using the old tactic. They tracked the new path and still earned grain.

Quilitch et al. (1973) saw the opposite. Their pigeons got stuck in rigid peck patterns even when the rules rewarded change. The difference is the task. In 1973 the cue was the same key color every trial, so birds repeated one sequence. Here the cue was the moving dot itself, so the birds had to keep adjusting.

Najdowski et al. (2003) also found fast change, but in choice, not motor skill. Their birds re-picked keys daily when delays shifted. Together the three papers show: pigeons can be flexible or rigid depending on what the cue makes relevant.

Mintz et al. (1966) showed that small visual cues inside a task cut errors. The catching study extends that idea: the whole moving target acts as one big cue that guides smooth motion instead of single pecks.

You can use moving targets on a tablet to teach flexible motor skills to learners who get stuck in repetitive loops. Start with slow, straight paths and flash a favorite item the moment they touch the target. Then bend the path or speed it up. The learner practices shifting movement in real time, not just repeating the same swipe.