Comparative study of the early postnatal chicken and pigeon brain. A Golgi-study of telencephalon and cerebellum

One-day- and four-week-old chicken and pigeon brains were studied in Golgi preparations. The maturational stage of telencephalon and cerebellum was compared in the two species. It was concluded that while the neurons (both projection and interneurons) of the chick brain showed a considerable maturity at one-day, after hatching, the pigeon brain of the same age appeared to be rather immature. An exception was the ventral telencephalic area (basal nucleus and olfactory tubercle). Findings correlate nicely with the functional performance of the brain areas studied in a precocial (chicken) and altricial (pigeon) species.