MALE DOVES REARED IN ISOLATION 127 



In 1908 I did not give Billy an opportunity to mate, as I did 

 Jack, but kept him in a cage by himself. He could always hear 

 other doves about him, but most of the time he was unable to 

 see them. He continued as familiar as ever with his human 

 companions. Even through the autumn he bowed-and-cooed 

 to us whenever he was enticed to do so. His spring awakening 

 began about the 20th of January, and became just as intense 

 as that of the year before, for when his spring fever was at its 

 height he cooed almost incessantly from the time the window 

 shades were rolled up in the morning until the lamps were ex- 

 tinguished at night. 



After three months of excitement, however, he seemed to be 

 tiring out. In the month of May he became much more quiet, 

 and toward the end of that month he acted as if he wanted to 

 sit. We gave him a little straw, and he tried to make some use 

 of it, so a few days later, about May 29, we gave him a nest 

 containing an egg. He took quickly to the nest and sat faith- 

 fuly on the egg all day, leaving it only to roost each night. 



June 1. Fearing that his health may surfer from lack of 

 exercise, I decide to put an end to his sitting. So at 1 :30 P. M. 

 I quietly remove the egg from under him. He sits on uncon- 

 cernedly. 



June 4. Though the egg was removed three days ago he still 

 continues to sit. For the first day or two he sat on the empty 

 nest, but now he sometimes sits on the floor, hooking his bill 

 around little pebbles or such objects and pushing them under 

 him as 'f they were eggs. He is as savage as a broody hen. 



June 11. We took the nest out some days ago, but he con- 

 tinues to try to sit. He is still insanely combative. 



June 18. I bring Billy into the company of another male 

 dove (Frank), allowing him not only to see the other dove, but 

 to come into contact with him and fight. This puts an end to 

 his tendency to sit. 



Billy was not given opportunity to mate until October 8, 

 1910, when he was more than three years old. On October 8 

 and 9 I allowed him to enter the cage of female No. 19 (now 

 a • bird of considerable breeding experience) , whose cage had 

 long been beside his for preliminary acquaintanceship. I watched 

 the behavior of the pair continuously (closing the cage door 

 between them whenever I could not be present), but I kept out 



