PIGEON'S INSANE POSTURINGS

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 1514, 9 November 1912, Page 2 (Supplement)

PIGEON'S INSANE POSTURINGS

A LUNATIC DANCE BOUND. In an articlo on madness in animals tho Paris "Temps" quotes the story told by Dr. Berillon of a Sussex pigeon to instance the similarity between human and animal madness. "Its conduct never betrayed any symptom of eccentricity until a broken beer-jyg was thrown down near the pigeonhouse. Then forthwith this respectable grandfather flew down to the ground, and began to perform Tound tho broken jug tho most ridiculous rites and ceremonies, advancing, retreating, bowing to tho old thing as if it wished to do homage, to tho piece of broken crockery. "His descendants looked on at these posturiiigs with absolute unconcern. When the jug was taken away, the pigeon returned to the ways of sanity, but when it was replaced in its old position tho antics went on as fast and ae furiously as over.

"It became a regular way of entertaining visitors to take them to see thia lunatic pigeon paying court, to the beerjug. and tho sport went on all. that summer. Before the following summer tjio pigeon was dead. Thus there is not only identity of eymptoms in the mental affections of men and animals, but identity of cerebral lesions wherever the antomical substratum is known. For instance, in the general paralysis of dogs there is found the same abnormality as in man. "Thie gives grounds for the hope that comparative pathology may enlighten us on some questions of mental disease, on which we are very much in the dark."