DEFENCE OF THE TERRITORY 11 



under which the pugnacious nature of the 

 male is rendered susceptible to appropriate 

 stimulation. And so long as the evidence 

 seemed to show that battles were confined 

 to the male sex, so long were there grounds 

 for hoping that their origin might be traced 

 to such competition. But female fights with 

 female, pair with pair, and, which is still 

 more remarkable, a pair will attack a single 

 male or a single female ; moreover, males that 

 reach their destination in advance of their 

 prospective mates engage in serious warfare. 

 How then is it possible to look upon the 

 individuals of one sex as directly responsible for 

 the strife amongst those of the other, or how 

 can the female supply the necessary condition ? 

 As long as an attempt is made to explain it in 

 terms of the female, the fighting will appear to 

 be of a confused order ; regard it, however, as part 

 of a larger process which demands, amongst 

 other essential conditions of the breeding 

 situation, the occupation of a definite territory, 

 and order will reign in place of confusion. 



But even supposing that the male inherits 

 a disposition to acquire a suitable area, even 

 supposing that it inherits a disposition which 

 results indirectly in the defence of that area, 

 how does it obtain a mate ? If the female 

 behaved in a like manner, if she, too, were to 

 isolate herself and remain in one place definitely, 

 that would only add to the difficulties of mutual 

 discovery. We find, however, in the migrants, 

 that the males are earlier than the females 



