24 BEHAVIOR OF PIGEONS. 



calls, nodding his head strongly with each call as usual. This call sounds a little like the 

 groan of a cat that is cornered and threatened with a stick a groan, a growl of despair, 

 as the animal seems to realize there is no escape and lies down and faces you. The female's 

 call has a distinct vibration in it, and there is always a slight opening of the beak as it 

 is made. The male's nest-call is 1 second long, and about 2 calls are given in 5 seconds; 

 this was the usual rate, but it was sometimes slowed up to 2 in 6 to 7 seconds. The interval 

 between calls was thus sometimes 3 seconds or longer. These calls were answered by the 

 female from her cage, but her calls were not as loud and full as those of the male. The 

 male went to his nest-box and began calling at the rate of about 12 times in 60 seconds. 

 The male wags his wings slowly as he calls and also bows with each call. The wings are 

 moved outward and upward and returned to the side of the body, sometimes 6 to 7 times 

 in 5 seconds. There are usually 3 to 4 wags of the wings for each call ; these are larger or 

 smaller according to the earnestness of the bird and his call. If the female calls and walks 

 forward and the male sees her trying to reach him, he becomes more animated in calls 

 and movements of the wings. The nest-call of the bronze-wing is a single note, homolo- 

 gous with the nest-growl of common pigeons. It is a monotone and like a low groan; 

 it is clear and hollow, like the sound from blowing in the mouth of an empty bottle. The 

 male is on the floor calling at the rate of 9 times in 30 seconds; his calls appear to be a 

 whole second in duration. In delivering, he bows his head so that the back of his head is 

 about on a level with his beak, and his beak is turned vertically downward. The male 

 is in the nest, and the female is on the floor; he is calling leisurely, at the rate of 17 times 

 a minute. He usually bows with each call, although the female scarcely moves her head. 

 The female called twice in answer and flew to the perch; the male then quickened his 

 calls to about 3 in 5 seconds, each call being nearly a second in length. 



The nest-call of the male Geopelia humeralis is the single note of the bronze-wing 

 broken up into rapidly repeated short notes : it is a string of notes run off consecutively. 



The call of the male Ectopistes is a succession of short notes, and sometimes a louder 

 and more prolonged call, corresponding to the coo-ca.ll of doves. The female's call is less 

 loud than that of the male; her call is a very crude one as compared with that of ring- 

 doves. It is a rather hoarse, low sound, impossible to describe. It is a simple squawk, 

 somewhat as if produced by a bird that has lost control of her organs of voice or that has 

 never learned to use them. The male makes a similar call, but louder and more explosive. 

 The male passenger flew back and forth, calling his mate while on the wing. This behavior 

 was noted a second time. 



The male white-faced pigeon (Leucosarcia picata) calls his young with the same call 

 and at the same rate as he calls his mate ; it is also the same call that he uses after his mate 

 has laid an egg. He gives two calls a second, and, posting himself on a perch or a shelf, 

 he keeps up this monotonous call by the hour. The calls are evenly run off, the bird 

 holding himself in one position. The call is loud and clear, and sounds like a short whistle, 

 the breath being expelled in a short forcible puff. I know of no other pigeon with such a 

 voice. Still, one can say that it is the pigeon oo, whistled twice each second. The sound is 

 not like oo vocalized, but whistled across the mouth of a bottle; i.e., the lips are held as if 

 to give the vocal oo, but the air is first put into vibration when expelled through the lips. 



THE NEST-CALL OP THE MALE BRONZE-WING. 



The nest-call of the male bronze-wing has then about the same length as the "perch 

 call," but the latter is accompanied by a bowing of the head, which means that the effort 

 is stronger than in the former, this position being one that conduces to rather deeper and 

 stronger sound. I notice, however, that a slight nodding of the head does accompany 

 the nest-call. The bowing done in connection with the nest-call is greater the louder the 

 call, i.e., when the male exerts himself most earnestly he strengthens his call with the 



