the kah and the coo

We very much enjoyed the referral to this series of gentle and earnest research papers from Canadian-American behavioural psychologist Wallace Craig (*1876 – †1954) examining the “voice and manners” of our pigeon and dove friends (1909 – 1911, see also), who himself displayed talent and dedication in observing and listening to these avian neighbours—including the Passenger Pigeon, which was already extinct at the time of writing but the birds’ fate was not yet known for sure. Even transcribing their calls and vocalisations in musical notation, Craig goes on further to study the pigeon’s sexual dimorphisms and differences in gait and pace and pecks. Much more to explore at the links above.