In birds, early experiences determine the later behavioural phenotype of individuals and their way of adapting to the challenges they encounter in their environment. We investigated how the degree of exposure of barn owl chicks to humans and their biological parents influenced their behavioural response to humans and different environments. Only the treatment groups raised by human beings, or those that remained for less time with their biological parents (15 days posthatching), learned to fly towards their trainer. However, the two groups of chicks that were raised the longest by their biological parents (20 and 25 days) never flew towards their trainer. In these last groups, the filial imprint was shown not to be able to be reversed. Neophobia was estimated to emerge between 17 and 19 days of age, as barn owls were able to recognize the environment in which they were habituated, showing fear of a new environment.

Birds were able to recognize the person who raised them and objects with which they had been raised. The results obtained in this work can help to establish breeding protocols in this and other species of birds of prey, which improve their adaptability to the environment where they will live, whether in captivity or in the wild.

在鸟类中，早期经历决定了个体后来的行为表型以及他们适应环境挑战的方式。我们调查了谷仓猫头鹰雏鸡与人类及其亲生父母的接触程度如何影响它们对人类和不同环境的行为反应。只有人类饲养的治疗组，或与亲生父母待在一起时间较短（孵化后 15 天）的治疗组学会了飞向他们的训练者。然而，由其亲生父母抚养的时间最长（20 天和 25 天）的两组小鸡从未飞向他们的训练师。在这最后几组中，孝道印记被证明是无法逆转的。据估计，恐惧症会在 17 到 19 天之间出现，

鸟类能够识别饲养它们的人以及饲养它们的物体。在这项工作中获得的结果可以帮助建立这种和其他猛禽种类的繁殖方案，从而提高它们对它们将生活的环境的适应性，无论是在圈养还是在野外。