VOl 'l9U Vm ] Craig, Emotion in Ike Passenger Pigeon. 413 



to fly up. Again, a Geotrygon flew down beside a male Passenger on 

 a shelf, and drove him off the shelf simply by going at him with one wing 

 up. A Geotrygon actually drove a male Passenger off his own nest." 



The following incident in the life of a male Passenger Pigeon 

 mated with a female Ring-Dove shows that the former was less 

 brave than the latter in driving intruders away from the nest. 

 (In pigeons generally the male is at least as brave as the female 

 in this matter.) 



"July 14, 1903. This morning I found a European Wood Pigeon (Co- 

 lumba palumbus) on the nest beside the female Ring-Dove, and a female 

 Passenger in adjacent corner. The male Passenger came in and drove off 

 the interloping female Passenger, then sat in corner quiet. Occasionally 

 he threatened the Wood Pigeon with wings and voice, bul (hired not go at 

 him. The female Ring-Dove threatened and finally pecked the Wood 

 Pigeon, making him start and throw a wing up. Then the male Passenger 

 flew at him and drove him off." 



Had it not been for this comparative harmlessness, the Passenger 

 Pigeons surely could never have nested so close together as they 

 did — a hundred nests in one tree, as both Audubon and Wilson 

 testify. Most pigeons are too aggressive to admit of such neighbor- 

 liness. 



Fear and Alarm. Probably the Passenger Pigeon did not differ 

 greatly from other species in the expressions of fear and alarm, 

 for these are the most uniform expressions throughout the Colum- 

 bidse. Chief Pokagon writes as follows (Mershon, p. 50): "While 

 feeding, they always have guards on duty, to give alarm of danger. 

 It is made by the watch-bird as it takes its flight, beating its wings 

 together in quick succession, sounding like the rolling beat of a 

 snare drum. Quick as thought each bird repeats the alarm with a 

 thundering sound, as the flock struggles to rise, leading a stranger 

 to think a young cyclone is then being born." This habit of flying 

 up when the flapping of wings is heard, was taken advantage of 

 by the pigeon-catchers in managing the flock, thus: (Brewster, 

 1889, quoted in Mershon, p. 75): "After a portion of the flock 

 has descended to the bed, they are started up by 'raising' the stool 

 bird [the stool bird then flapping its wings], and fly back to the 

 perch." The communication of alarm by the sound of wings is 

 seen clearly in all species of pigeon. The Passenger probably had 



