Pigeon whistle

A pigeon whistle of the gourd type with three pairs of sub-whistles. The pigeon whistle, known in China as geling 鴿鈴 or geshao 鴿哨, is a small musical instrument belonging to the Aeolian group of musical instruments. It is attached to the tail of a pigeon with the help of a spindle, so that it emits a sound when the bird flies. Skušek’s collection of pigeon whistles contains three different types of instruments, distinguished by their shape: gourd, tube and combined, of which the gourd type is the most common. The body of the gourd type whistle is a hollowed-out gourd. There are smaller, larger, and medium-sized pigeon whistles of this type; the latter is the most common, and its sound the most familiar. Most flutes of the gourd type consist of a base – the gourd – with sub-whistles called zaizi (sprout). On the upper part of the gourd there is a cap, usually made of bamboo, with a slit or gap through which air can flow, and sub-whistles made of reed or bamboo. Three pairs of sub-whistles are most common for this type: one pair under the slit on the cap and another on each side of the gourd body. The type called “stars around the moon”, named for its shape, has many more sub-whistles, attached to the gourd body in a semicircle around the slit. The photo shows a medium-sized gourd pigeon whistle with three pairs of sub-whistles. In addition to the above-mentioned parts of the instrument, we can also see the “tail”, a small plate with a hole, made of ivory or bamboo, glued to the base of the gourd. This allows the whistle to be attached to the tail of a pigeon. The pigeon whistle is painted dark red, the pair of whistles and the plate are of natural colour. (KH)