THE MATING PERIOD. 23 



reared. The box was kept on the floor of the pen. To-day I removed the box from the 

 pen, leaving only the hard floor for the birds to rest upon. This afternoon I noticed 

 that they were trying to rest on the floor in the place where the box had been. They 

 found the floor did not afford them the comfortable bed which they had had in their old 

 nest, and they showed by uneasy actions that they realized that their bed had not the 

 proper shape. One of the two young then began the nest-making movements with its 

 feet and legs, as if to work out a more comfortable place. The act was repeated several 

 times under my eye at a distance of only 2 feet, so that I could see plainly that the motions 

 were exactly those of an adult bird in preparing a nest. 



In this case we see one of the more essential combinations of actions involved in nest 

 making performed by a young bird that has certainly never learned the trick from old 

 birds. The bird doubtless remembered its easy nest, and sought to make its bed a nest- 

 like concavity. It is instinct and intelligence, for having just a while before enjoyed some- 

 thing better, the bird was not satisfied with a plain hard floor. The discomfort would 

 probably not have been felt had the bird been accustomed from the first to such a surface. 

 The cause of the action may have been of the same nature as that which stimulates the 

 old bird in nest-making. The purpose of the bird is to make her place easier, and she does 

 not think of the need of a hollow bed to hold eggs. The two needs her present comfort 

 and the future need of the eggs are identical and are satisfied by the one act. The 

 future purpose is not in the bird's mind, but it is this need that the observer usually thinks 

 of, wholly forgetting the need that the bird thinks of. (R 33, SS 4, R 7.) 



NEST-CALL. 1 

 THE PURPOSE OP THE NEST-CALL. 



The nest-call is given very frequently by both birds throughout the entire 

 mating period. It may be given from either the nest, the floor, or on the wing. 

 The purpose of the call is evident from the following disconnected excerpts gath- 

 ered from various records. The call also occurs throughout the incubation period. 

 (See Voice, Chapter V.) 



A pair of bronze-wings were beginning to prepare for a nest, the male taking the lead 

 in going to the nest-box and calling. The female took her place in the nest and called for 

 the male to bring straw. The female was in the nest and calling, while the male was on 

 the floor looking for straws. The many calls of the male evidently indicate that he has 

 a sexual inclination. The male calls the female to a new nest-making, absolutely indiff- 

 erent to the young. The male calls to the nest much during the forenoon and some in 

 the afternoon. The male began calling in the nest-box in the very early morning, before 

 there was daylight. The male goes to the nest-box and calls. The female sat in the nest- 

 box and called for straws. During the afternoon, and especially in the morning, the male 

 spends considerable time in the nest calling for the female to come to the nest-box and 



renew the cycle. 



THE NATURE OF THE NEST-CALL. 



The nature of the nest-call is illustrated by the following excerpts taken from 

 several different manuscripts : 



When on the nest the male bronze-wing gives calls which are rather loud and strong 

 like a groan of a cat, a deep moaning sound. The male's call is stronger and a little 

 longer than that of the female. His call is nearly a second long. The female's call has a 

 vibration which I can not detect in that of the male; his call is a deep, full, moan-like 

 sound. The male makes a distinct nod of the head with each call. The male gave two 



1 Much material on this topic is given in Chapter X. 



