Craig, Expressions of Emotion in Pigeons. 39 



given by difforoiit individuals, and in the cas(? of each individual it 

 varies according to the circumstances under which it is given, 

 I shall describe three types: (I) the ordinary-kah ; (TI) the kah-of- 

 excitement; (III) the copulation-note. The first two of these, how- 

 ever, are not two specific cries ; the}^ are but two types chosen to 

 represent a perplexing multiformity of sounds which might, perhaps, 

 be as well represented by a greater number of types. 



(I) The ordinary-hall. — In order to give a general statement 

 which will include all the uses of this utterance, one may say that it 

 is a greeting. If translated into English it would be ''hallo," with 

 varying intonation. It is given by a dove upon rejoining the flock, 

 or upon alighting on a perch where another ring-dove is sitting, or 

 upon seeing a friend after a short period of separation, or upon going 

 to the nest where the mate is sitting, especially when the intention is 

 to exchange places with that bird upon the nest, or upon going to 

 the mate with intent to caress it, as by preening its head. Con- 

 versely, a dove may give this call when it is approached and caressed 

 by the mate ; when, sitting upon the nest, it is approached by the 

 mate Avith intent of taking its turn in sitting ; and so with the recipro- 

 cals of the other situations mentioned. These uses are all obviously 

 social. The cry is given also at certain conjunctures which do'not 

 necessarily involve other birds : thus, the kah is often given by a dove 

 when it alights on a perch, even if there be no other birds near; or 

 it is given when the dove goes to its nest and eggs, even if the mate 

 be not near. But the use of the kali at these conjunctures is evidently 

 an outgrowth from the social usage ; and, moreover, even in any one 

 of these situations the probability of its use is much greater when 

 other birds are present. The dove sometimes voices this sound when, 

 seeing food put into its cup, it comes to eat; in this case the cry 

 prol)ably has some social reference to the man who has brought the 

 food. For this cry of greeting is very often used, toward the dove's 

 human acquaintances ; and a dove that has been long isolated from 

 its kind will give a kah of greeting to any human being who comes 

 near. 



The sound of the ordinary-kah is distinguished from that of the 

 kah-of-excitement by being light, free, and careless in expression. 



