Craig, Expressions of E mot ion ni Pigeons. 55 



to raise the head for food or to give a few little jerks of the head 

 which have no apparent significance. They show no sign of fear. 

 To speak of the converse relation, of yonng to parent — a movement 

 of the yonng nnder the mother seems to be a gentle stimulus to her 

 v.-hich may cause her to feed it. 



Within half a day from the time of hatching, the young may be 

 heard to give a very faint "j)eep," so faint, in fact, that it is inaudible 

 at a distance of three or four feet ; a very brief note, also, for it lasts 

 but a small fraction of a second. By the second day the voice is a 

 little stronger ; it may sometimes be heard at a couple of yards' dis- 

 tance. It is a rather musical, sibilant sound, easily imitated by 

 whistling the letter S very gently through the teeth. There is a 

 gentle rise in pitch at the beginning and a sudden slight fall at the 

 end; the pitch of the sustained part of the note is about b," but is 

 variable. It may be asked if the voice is of any use at this time, 

 or if it is merely undergoing development for the latter period of 

 strength and usefulness. In answer, it may be said that even the 

 young on the day of hatching squeaks when it is hungry and is silent 

 when satisfied, and that even its microphonic voice is useful as a 

 stimulus to the parent birds, including them to feed. 



The small nestling. — The little bird grows with wonderful rapidity, 

 and its development keeps pace with its growth. On the third day the 

 eyelids begin to become detached from one another, but the eyes are 

 kept closed almost all the time, and the young bird is several days 

 old before the eyes seem to be of real utility. AMien the eyes begin 

 to function, and not before, the young bird begins to show signs of 

 fear. At first, the body is depressed and the head lowered to a 

 hardly appreciable extent. Then, as these signs become more marked, 

 the little pin-feathers begin to be raised slightly from the skin, and 

 the bill is just barely opened and closed again, this movement being 

 the first beginning of the puff or hiss. Each of these signs becomes 

 gradually more nuirked, till finally they develop in the fledgling into 

 a most extravagant expression of fear. 



The voice alters very little for several days after hatching, though 

 growing in some cases slightly stronger. 



The large nestling. — About the ninth day the parents begin to 



