COMPLEXITY OF THE FIGHTING 85 



this I mean that it is not merely a matter of 

 disputes between adjoining males, but that it 

 is a far more comprehensive business involving 

 both sexes. Thus female fights with female and 

 pair with pair, or a male will attack a female, or, 

 again, a pair will combine against a single male 

 or a single female. And from all this com- 

 plexity of strife we gain much valuable evidence 

 in regard to the question immediately before us. 

 For when one pair attacks another, or males 

 that are definitely paired fight with one another, 

 or an unpaired male attacks either sex of a 

 neighbouring pair indiscriminately, there is 

 surely little ground for supposing that the 

 possession of a mate is the reason of it all. 



The battles between pairs of the same species 

 are by no means uncommon. Observe, for 

 example, the central pair of three pairs of Reed- 

 Buntings occupying adjoining territories, and 

 keep a daily record of the routine of activity 

 practised by both sexes during the early hours 

 of the morning ; then, at the close of the season, 

 summarise all the fighting under different head- 

 ings, and it will be found that the number of 

 occasions upon which the central pair attacked, 

 or was attacked by, neighbouring pairs will form 

 a considerable portion of the whole. 



Or watch the Moor-Hen, and for the purpose 

 choose some sheet of water large enough to 

 accommodate three or more pairs, and so situated 

 that the birds can always be kept in view. 

 Early in February the pool will be haunted 

 by numbers of individuals of both sexes, all 



