The Pigeon in Confinement 203 



birds desert it. As in the wild state, both parents assist 

 in incubation, the females sitting all night, and the 

 males by day. As soon as the young are hatched the 

 parents are fed on earth worms, beetles, grubs, etc., 

 which are placed in a box of earth, from which they 

 greedily feed, afterwards nourishing the young, in the 

 usual way, by disgorging the contents from the crop. 

 At times the earth in the inclosure is moistened with 

 water and a handful of worms thrown in, which soon 

 find their way under the surface. The pigeons are so 

 fond of these tid-bits they will often pick and scratch 

 holes in their search, large enough to almost hide them- 

 selves. 



When the birds are sitting during cold weather, the 

 egg is tucked up under the feathers, as though to support 

 the egg in its position. At such times the pigeon rests 

 on the side of the folded wing, instead of squatting on 

 the nest. During the first few days, after the young is 

 hatched, to guard against the cold, it is, like the egg, 

 concealed under the feathers of the abdomen, the head 

 always pointing forward. In this attitude, the parents, 

 without changing the sitting position or reclining on 

 the side, feed the squab by arching the head and neck 

 down, and administering the food. The young leave 

 the nest in about fourteen days, and then feed on small 

 seeds, and later, with the old birds, subsist on grains, 

 beech nuts, acorns, etc. 



The adults usually commence to molt in September 



