] L'S WALLACE CRAIG 



of sight myself, in order that Billy might not be distracted by 

 my presence as Jack was. 



October 8. Billy was very cruel to the female. 



October 9. Little or no cruelty. He responded to the female 

 with mating and nesting behavior. Several times he showed 

 sexual excitement and a desire to fly on something, yet no ten- 

 dency to mount the female, until — 



3:22 P. M. Female comes in again' and flies up beside male, 

 and, on her initiative, they bill two or three times. She then 

 takes the copulation posture, maintaining it steadily, close 

 beside the male and parallel to him. This evidently gives the 

 male just the needed stimulus, for after just the normal pause 

 he mounts. He mounts, however, obliquely across her body, 

 and goes through his sexual reaction in that sidewise position, 

 not effecting union with the female. 



On October 10th I was not able to be with the birds, and by 

 mistake I left the door open so that they had free access to each 

 other. During that day Billy evidently learned to mate in a 

 manner almost normal; but for a long time (for years, and I 

 think in some degree to the present day) he persisted in a habit 

 of omitting the preliminary ceremony of billing, flying without 

 warning on the back of the female. 



Billy now has had much experience, not only with a mate 

 and young but also with a small flock of doves; his attention 

 has thus been drawn strongly toward his own species, people 

 have been kept away from his cage to some extent, and he has 

 practically given up his abnormal attachment to human beings. 

 For a long time he continued to react with, more or less excite- 

 ment to our presence, especially to our hands, but now no such 

 tendency is noticeable. During his almost three years of isola- 

 tion he developed a most truculent disposition, partly perhaps 

 because he was teased by some persons — this is probably one 

 reason why he so readily gave up human companionship. After 

 a long period of peaceful life with mate and young, his disposi- 

 tion has become very mild. He is a good sitter, brooder, and 

 feeder of young. 



Frank, No. 30. Hatched July 24, 1908. Put in isolation 

 about November 10, his 110th day (a late date, due to lack of 

 facilities). 



