THE MATING PERIOD. 17 



brought together on bright mornings in order to secure photographs of their mating 

 behavior. This behavior is described in the following additional records: 



As soon as the pair was put together the male began to charge at the female, driving 

 her vigorously. He evidently recognized her as his mate, but for some reasons not clear 

 he charged at her as if displeased at something. The male later resumed these charges 

 at the female, but they soon began their love-making, and for two hours kept up hugging, 

 mounting, jumping, and strutting with mouth open, etc. The female often mounted the 

 male; sometimes she came up to the male in a number of mounts, but towards the end 

 the male was not so easily held by the neck, seemingly getting impatient of such play on 

 the part of the female. On a later occasion the pair was active for an hour and then began 

 to show less earnestness. The male began by charging, clucking all the time as he drove 

 the female. It was more evident now that he wanted to start the female off for a nesting- 

 place. The male carried through one copulation, but mounted many times besides, and 

 the female succeeded in mounting only twice ; of the two the male was plainly more active, 

 and also less submissive to efforts of his mate to mount. The female, nevertheless, kept 

 up her efforts, fruitless as most of them were. Her behavior is that of the male ; it is merely 



less energetic. 



COMPARATIVE BEHAVIOR.' 



The behavior of the geopelias in uniting offers one or two unique and distinctive fea- 

 tures, but it is of greater interest for the several points of likeness which these birds share 

 with the bronze-wings. The male of Geopelia humeralis (and other geopelias) mounts 

 several times, clucking slowly each time until, with a sudden spring and a vigorous strik- 

 ing together of the wings over the back, he jumps off; he walks away slowly with tail 

 spread, and after a few jumps he returns and takes the female's beak once or twice, mounts 

 again, etc. ; he continues this until the female is thoroughly aroused and ready to respond. 

 After copulating, however, he shortens his neck and bristles up as if angry and drives 

 the female away. G. cuneata does the same. 



A female G. humeralis mated with a ring-dove does not flee from him after a union 

 as she does from a mate of her own species. Her difference of action is due to different 

 behavior on the part of the male. The male ring-dove allows himself, after a union, to 

 be fondled by the female, and she expresses her joy by so doing. The male Geopelia, on 

 the contrary, bristles up in a most savage manner and repels her love and drives her off, 

 acting as if his pleasure had turned to displeasure and nausea. 



The same slapping together of the wings over the back which is exhibited by these 

 geopelias has already been noted as a common feature in the bronze-wing pigeon. It is, 

 however, not so regularly seen in the bronze-wing; the male often jumps off with only a 

 flirt of the wings and struts around the female. The bronze-wing also rarely takes the 

 beak of the female (he does sometimes), but he often opens wide his beak as he approaches 

 her. In pressing his neck over that of the female the bronze-wing acts much as Ectopistes 

 does. 



The behavior of bronze-wings in mating shows, therefore, some decided affinities with 

 the geopelias. Most marked is the similarly repeated mounting of the female by the male; 

 the lowering of the male's head over that of the female; the giving of a short note and the 

 repetition of it while the male gradually lowers his wings preparatory to raising them and 

 striking them together over his back as he jumps to the ground. A part of the behavior 

 after jumping off is also similar in the two forms the raising of the head, with arched 

 neck stretched; the tail dragging on the floor; the strutting off and circling around the 

 female; and at the same time offering the wide-open beak to the female. (R 28, R 33, 

 R17, Rl.) 



1 Further material on this topic may be found in Chapter X. 



