THE INCUBATION PERIOD. 



TABLE 4. Time of laying Continued. 



47 



A female ring-dove mated with a common pigeon dropped her second egg at 6 h 20 

 p. m., only a little more than one day after laying the first. This was due to rough treat- 

 ment. I found her off the nest and the young hybrid on the egg. I tried to have her 

 return to the nest, but she kept leaving the egg and tried to get away. As she flew from 

 me I tried to catch her, and in the effort my hand struck on her back, forcing her to the 

 ground. The blow was not hard, but it must have jarred her, and within 5 to 10 minutes 

 afterward she dropped the second egg, which had a shell which was still quite thin and 

 which was broken when I discovered it. The female of a pair of blond X white rings 

 laid the second egg between 11 and 12 o'clock but this was a case where the time was 

 evidently delayed on account of moving the doves into the house, and the egg was not 

 laid until the nest was returned to its place in the coop at the rear of the house. This 

 case would not count as normal. (R19, Em 7, C 7/7.) 



The time of laying the second egg may occasionally be influenced by the male's 

 incubation activities. He occupies the nest during the day and frequently begins 



