The Audubon Societies 



169 



over which they exert absolute dominion so far as their species is con- 

 cerned, unless driven out by a more powerful bird. If any other male of his 

 species dares to intrude, he is immediately driven away. An amusing incident, 

 illustrating this, took place in front of one of my windows, where I maintain a 

 feeding-log, last spring. It seems that a certain male Song Sparrow had 

 decided to have a nest in an adjoining hedge and had been announcing the 

 fact by his cheerful song for several days. Whether he already knew about 

 the feeding-log near the window I do not know, but one unfortunate day he 

 ventured to it, and when he did so, 

 discovered his own reflection in the win- 

 dow. He thought it was another Song 

 Sparrow trespassing upon his territory, 

 and in a fury he dashed into the glass 

 to drive it away. Nor did the fact that 

 the window met him as hard as he 

 met it dampen his ardor in the least. 

 He kept at his task of driving away 

 the other bird all that day and all the 

 next, barely taking time off to eat or 

 to announce to the world that he was 

 still defending the hedge. Indeed, as 

 the days rolled by and he continued 

 to fight his reflection, we grew worried 

 about him and tried every means of 

 discouraging him to no avail. He had 

 discovered that another Song Sparrow 

 claimed every down-stairs window on 

 that side of the house, and he con- 

 tinued to fight. There were so many 

 windows that it gave him little time to 

 eat or to sing, and the result was he 

 had to go without a mate from early 

 in April until the middle of May. 

 When at last a female settled in his 

 territory, he grew less pugnacious and 

 ventured to the windows only a few 

 times each day to make sure that his 

 hated rival did not steal a march on him. 



With some birds this zeal of the male in the defense of his territory seems 

 to be quite essential, for the female, which accepts him, seems to be much 

 more devoted to his territory than she is to him. Should a stronger male 

 come along and drive away her first lord and master, she accepts the new 

 suitor with perfect equanimity. I have observed this with Robins, Red- 



SONG SPARROW FIGHTING HIS OWN 

 REFLECTION 



He had decided to nest nearby and so proceeded to drive 



off all other Song Sparrows — even including 



his own reflection 



