FIGHTING CONTROLLED 93 



territories are still in process of being established, 

 and definiteness has still to be acquired, tres- 

 passing is of frequent occurrence, and the 

 conflicts are often conspicuous for their severity. 

 Now these conflicts are not confined to 

 unpaired individuals, nor to one sex, nor to 

 one member of a pair^ — every individual that 

 has settled upon the pool for the purpose of 

 breeding will at one time or another be involved 

 in a struggle with its neighbour. If then we 

 single out certain pairs and day by day observe 

 their actions and their attitude towards intruders, 

 we shall notice that, instead of their routine of 

 existence consisting, as a casual acquaintance 

 with the pool and its inmates might lead us 

 to beheve, of an endless series of meaningless 

 disputes, the behaviour of each individual is 

 directed towards a similar goal — the increasing 

 of the security of its possession ; and further, 

 if we pay particular attention to the circum- 

 stances which lead up to the quarrels and the 

 circumstances under which such quarrels come 

 to an end, we shall find, when we have accumu- 

 lated a sufficient body of observations, that the 

 disputes always originate in trespass, and that 

 hostilities always cease when the trespasser 

 returns again to its own territory. By careful 

 observation it is possible to make oneself 

 acquainted with the boundaries — I know not 

 what other term to use — which separate this 

 territory from that ; and it is the conduct of the 

 birds on or near these boundaries to which 

 attention must be drawn. A bird may be 



