132 BEHAVIOR OF PIGEONS. 



cot and had to be returned to his own home. On the day following he failed to find his cot 

 and was thus prevented from sitting during the middle of the day. Again, on the next 

 day, he became lost and did not return until 4 p. m. (R 9.) 



ORIENTATION. 



A pair of black common pigeons were put in a cot in the barn on May 1, 1907. They 

 were fastened in until they made a nest and laid eggs (May 5). About 10 days later I put 

 up a small wire cage (2 feet by 15 inches by 18 inches high) on the shelf to their cot, and 

 so placed that its open door was close to the cot-hole. The birds could go in and out of 

 this wire cage at pleasure. Of course, when out of this cage, they could become acquainted 

 with the yard, the rear of the house, the dove-pens, and their neighbors in the adjoining 

 cots to right and left, above and below. Their cot was in the second tier from below. On 

 the evening of June 3, after dark, I removed the cage, leaving free egress from their cot. 



At 5 o'clock the next morning it was dark and rainy, and these common pigeons had 

 not left the cot. The male was on the young; the female soon came out and walked inquisi- 

 tively about, as if missing the cage. Soon she came down and fed on the ground with the 

 other pigeons, to which I had thrown seed. After a time she felt like returning, but flew 

 to the roof of the barn, and appeared wholly at sea, although her cot was but 10 or 12 feet 

 below. She tried several shelves, and in the course of 30 minutes reached her own shelf, 

 by mere accident. She was not then sure of her place, but, peering into the hole, she saw 

 her mate and went in. Soon afterward the male came out and, after behaving as if in a 

 strange place, flew to the roof. Later the female came out and flew to the yard for food; 

 the mate recognized her and followed. After eating and walking about the yard, she flew 

 up and tried to find her cot. She succeeded only after blundering a little less than in the 

 first instance. The male followed her up, but went to the roof, and found his way back 

 about 11 a. m. Then both birds came out together, spent a half hour in the yard, and then 

 flew to the roof of the house and to the barn. About 4 p. m. I found both in the cot above 

 them and to the north. They fought for this cot, but at length were beaten off. After 

 some more searching they found their cot and remained with it. At 5 h 35 m p. m. the female 

 came out and flew down to feed. After 10 or 15 minutes she returned, going straight to 

 her shelf. The cage made these birds somewhat at home in the yard, so that they did not 

 start off on long flights; but they still could not steer to a cot, and were as if in a world 

 from which no lines to their cot had ever been impressed upon their brains. The essentials 

 for finding home were not there, and they were slowly and blunderingly discovered by acci- 

 dental hits, which they were impelled to make by the need of relief from their stock of food 

 for their young. (R 10.) 



HOME INSTINCT. 



The following records are found in several manuscripts under the title of "Home 

 Instinct." They refer to the conduct of birds in confinement that were given 

 their freedom or that had succeeded in escaping from their pens. 



All my geopelias seem to be fairly sure not to go away when they escape singly. What 

 they would do if two got out at the same time I do not know. But when one alone escapes, 

 it always returns in search of its companions, and I have succeeded in recapturing them in 

 every case. The social instinct is strong with them, and I believe this instinct is the founda- 

 tion of the home instinct; that is, given the social instinct, the home instinct would 

 inevitably follow, natural selection aiding its development. 



One of my crested pigeons got away at Woods Hole and never returned. Whether 

 the social instinct in this species would enable one to let the bird have its freedom safely 

 I do not know. I think it might in case the bird was very tame. 



One of my mourning-doves, which was mated with a ring-dove, got out of its cage; it 

 stayed near for a short time, cooing for its mate. Soon it flew off and did not return. I 



