CHAPTER V 



THE RELATION OF THE TERRITORY TO THE 

 SYSTEM OF REPRODUCTION 



In the first two chapters I tried to show that 

 the inherited nature of the male leads it to 

 remain in a definite place at a definite season 

 and to become intolerant of the approach of 

 members of its own sex, and that a result is 

 thus attained which the word " territory " in 

 some measure describes. But the use of this 

 word is nevertheless open to criticism, for it 

 denotes a human end upon which the highest 

 faculties have been brought to bear, and con- 

 sequently we have to be on our guard lest our 

 conception of the *' territory " should tend to 

 soar upwards into regions which require a level 

 of mental development not attained by the 

 bird. It is necessary to bear this in mind 

 now we have come to consider the meaning 

 of the territory, or rather the position that it 

 occupies in the whole scheme of reproduction. 

 Relationship to a territory within the inter- 

 related whole of a bird's life serves more than 

 one purpose, and not always the same purpose 

 in the case of every species. We have only 



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