NATURE AND HABITS 71 



less sympathy vividly depicted on their expres- 

 sive faces. 



Turning again to the subject of this unusual 

 emotion, I saw her crouch, for it indeed proved 

 to be a female, and rise high on Her feet sev- 

 eral times in great agony, and then with a final 

 effort, an egg rolled out and down the sloping 

 roof, crashing on the cement below. 



What I had supposed to be a bachelor was 

 an eggbound female, the only case, so far as I 

 know, that occurred during my experience in 

 pigeon raising. But I have heard that they 

 suffer untold agony. Doubtless, my rough 

 treatment gave her ultimate relief. It was cu- 

 rious, however, that the bachelors should have 

 recognized her trouble and sympathized with 

 her, and in so doing had attracted my attention 

 to her. I gently caught her with my hand and 

 placed her alone in a box with food and water 

 for a few hours, then let her loose, when she 

 seemed recovered, and flew happily to her 

 nest where her mate greeted her lovingly. 



Many times pigeons are extremely kind and 

 charitable to one another. Once one of my fe- 

 male runts died, leaving a pair of featherless 

 squabs, and the feeding and hovering devolved 

 entirely on the widowed father. Just above 

 his nests lived a pair of homers with squabs of 



