t54 The Irish Naturalist, juHe, 



Birds-nesters are, I think, aware that we seldom find in close 

 proximity to each other two nests belonging to the same 

 species of bird. Of course I exclude from this statement 

 birds whose custom is to nest in communities, like the Rook 

 and Swallow. We are aware, too, that cock birds in early 

 spring spend a great deal of their time in fighting one 

 another. No doubt, we are in the habit, when we see one of 

 these fights in progress, of taking for granted that each of the 

 antagonists is violently in love with the same lady. It is not, 

 however, generally supposed that the battles condemn the 

 loser to lasting bachelorhood. Failing to win the bride he 

 has been fighting for would, of course, be something of a 

 disappointment ', but the number of hen-birds, so far as we 

 can gather, is fully equal to the number of cock-birds, so that 

 when all the fighting is over, there is nothing to prevent all 

 the birds from marrying and settling down to *' live happily 

 ever after." We may suppose, in our sentimental way of 

 looking at things, that even then the poor beaten cock-bird 

 suffers from a certain amount of depression when he thinks 

 of the greater charms of her to whom he first paid court. But 

 we have the assurance of experts that no such thing happens ; 

 that one hen-bird is quite as good as another,and that every 

 cock-bird is perfectly content with the first mate he can get. 

 That is sometimes laid down as the reason why hen-birds, as 

 a rule, have not developed bright nuptial colours or melodious 

 voices. The difficulty is to explain why, on such a view, the 

 cock-birds need fight at alL If one mate is as good as another, 

 and there are mates enough for all, the advantage of winning 

 a battle seems hardly worth the discomfort. It has been 

 alleged that the victor gains an advantage in point of time, 

 and so he does, if it is an advantage to begin nesting a little 

 earlier than his rivals. But that, it seems to me, is not always 

 any advantage ; as far as the progeny are concerned, it may, 

 in a backward season, prove the reverse. Consequently, we 

 are still without adequate explanation why the birds fight one 

 another so hard, unless they have some other object in view 

 than merely to win a mate. 



The case would, however, be entirely different if the result 

 of the battle were frequently to prevent the defeated bird from 

 rearing a family in the neighbourhood at all. This would 

 mean to the families of the successful birds, in the early days 



