74 BEHAVIOR OF PIGEONS. 



calls, and he again retires to the opposite end of the perch. It is now after sunset, get- 

 ting dark; but I have the room lighted, and this perhaps incites the irregular behavior 

 in the male, for he is already back to the nest again at 5 h 48 m . Two or three times more, 

 between 5 h 30 m and 5 h 55, the male returned to the nest after I had lowered the light; 

 the female protested every time and he called as if uneasy at something. At 6 h 30 m I find, 

 on going to the room, which has been dark since I left and locked so that no outside 

 disturbance could occur, that the male is sitting on the perch close in front of the nest 

 instead of at the most distant end of the perch, as I should expect. 



Dec. 29. At 7 h 34 m a. m. the male is on the side of the nest, calls twice, waits a moment 

 or two, walks off the perch, and is now walking uneasily back and forth, as if he would 

 like to get out of the window. The same behavior was noticed for the last two or three days. 



Dec. 30. The male is standing in the nest beside the female, fondling her head. I 

 presume he wants to relieve her again. 



Dec. 31. After keeping the room locked from l h 46 m p. m., I returned at 6 p. m. and 

 found the male sitting on the perch directly in front of the female, instead of sitting at 

 the distant end of the perch. 



Jan. 2. At 7 h 35 m a. m., the male went to the nest and fondled the head of his mate 

 while standing on the side of the nest. He then pushed the female off the nest, but 

 refused to sit. At 10 a. m. the first egg is hatching. The female has been off the nest for 

 30 minutes, and meanwhile the male has not offered to sit. In fact, he has stood for 20 

 minutes on the nest without sitting, and he walked to the perch just before the female 

 stepped to the nest. The male is ready to renew the nesting cycle. I noticed this as early 

 as yesterday, but more plainly to-day. His way of going to the nest and fondling the head 

 of the female as if she were not doing serious duty, sometimes carelessly walking over her, 

 and also sitting near her at night, all indicate this fact. Besides, he sits very perfunc- 

 torily. To-day he left the egg and came down to his mate on the floor and began courtesying 

 to her as if he desired to copulate. 



Jan. 3. The first young hatched this morning. The male went to the nest and fondled 

 the head of the female, but did not relieve her till l h 05 m p. m. He gives no attention to 

 the young bird and does not sit down to cover it. His behavior confirms the conclusion of 

 yesterday that he prematurely arrived at the end of his incubating period and has now 

 become totally indifferent at the very time when he should be most attentive. The female 

 is absolutely faithful and sticks to the nest, doing double duty; the male meanwhile loafs 

 about, visits the female, and fondles her head, but shows not a particle of interest in the 

 little one. 



Jan. 4. The second egg has hatched. One young, probably the first one, is dead. 



Jan. 5. The male relieved the female several times during the day, but he does not 

 really sit; he "stands" over the young or on the edge of the nest. He makes no attempt to 

 feed the young. He bows to the female and solicits her frequently. He feeds the female 

 once, tries to copulate with the seed-dish several times, and attempts to mount the female. 



Jan. 7. The male has refused to cover or feed the young. The second young bird is 

 dead this morning, the female not being able to cover it continuously. The male has been 

 trying to entice the female to a new nesting cycle. This new cycle started shortly after 

 the death of the young bird. (R 33.) 



SECOND CYCLE. 



The first egg was laid on January 16, but it was thin-shelled and broken. The 

 second egg was laid on January 18. The incubation record was normal for 5 days. 

 The egg was then gradually deserted during a period of 3 days, and a new cycle 

 began on the day following. The cycle was thus terminated 10 to 13 days before 



