314 TOWNSEND, A'otes on the Rock Dove. [july 



effect that this action of the Pigeons was inherited from ancestors 

 who were pursued by gunners, but this would involve the inherit- 

 ance of an acquired trait that had existed during the brief time only 

 since gunpowder was used. On the other hand it is possible that 

 the habit has been continued by example from adult to offspring 

 since the feral days of this bird. I have observed a somewhat 

 similar case where a caged canary, not easily disturbed by ordinary 

 affairs of the household, showed great terror whenever a toy balloon 

 floated about the room. This perhaps points back to the more 

 deep seated instinct of fear of a hawk or other large bird hovering 

 overhead. It may be mentioned here that the Pigeon has not yet 

 learned to estimate accurately the speed of an automobile approach. 

 It is able to take care of itself where horses are concerned, but not 

 infrequently lingers too long in the street and is run over or hit by 

 the automobile while it is attempting to fly away. In this respect 

 it resembles the domestic fowl and other animals. 



In gliding either in a straight line or in curves and partial circles 

 the wings are held as in most birds about on the same plane with 

 the body, but at times one may see a pair of birds gliding through 

 the air with the wings held up at an angle of forty-five degrees. 

 This is an interesting sight and is apparently of the nature of a 

 nuptial performance. 



In alighting in a field the Pigeon frequently first circles over the 

 ground, or, if alighting suddenly, sometimes looks about for a 

 moment before searching for food. This is suggestive of inherited 

 caution from wild ancestry, for the Rock Dove in its native haunts 

 is said to be very wild and suspicious. This caution is not seen 

 when the bird alights in a crowded street. 



The typical "dove-like" walk of this bird is familiar; he ad- 

 vances with nodding head as if at each step his head lingered behind 

 while the neck and body kept on. This is seen in a greater or lesser 

 extent in various other birds that walk; it is noticeable in the 

 Ipswich Sparrow. 



The sight of a flock of Pigeons sunning themselves on a roof is a 

 familiar one; the birds also have a habit in intervals between feed- 

 ing of collecting in compact flocks and squatting close together with 

 the tarsi and often the breasts flat on the ground. A group acting 

 thus, all headed towards the wind, suggests the similar habit of 

 Gulls. 



