212 THE LARKS 



tions, it would seem, are preceded, on the part of the males, by a 

 species of territorial annexation, whereby each bird assumes dominion 

 over a definite area of ground which he endeavours to hold against 

 all rivals, and from which all trespassers of his own kind are promptly 

 driven. The breeding area occupied, several neighbouring males 

 may now be seen chasing a female with great rapidity through the 

 air, and every now and then breaking out into the sweetest song. 

 Sometimes a male will hover above a female who crouches down 

 amongst the herbage, and in various ways will seek to display 

 his charms. She will then often rise in the air, when the males 

 will toy with her, fluttering round and round, or darting hither 

 and thither with great speed, singing all the while. Mr. Selous refers 

 to such encounters as " delicate little mock-combats in the air," and 

 assures us that the male, when courting, advances on the female with 

 wings drooped and tail and crest raised, in a series of impressive 

 hops ; all, in short, is carried on in a perfectly gentle and chivalrous 

 spirit, in which the elements of jealousy seem to have no part. 

 Naumann, on the other hand, sees the same essential facts in another 

 light. Not only does he assert that the males are always quarrelling, 

 but they are, he protests, particularly aggressive during the spring. 

 Rival males, according to him, actuated by jealousy, fight furiously, 

 and often a third male will join in the fray. These combats, while 

 generally aerial, sometimes take place on the ground, when the com- 

 batants assume the attitudes of fighting cocks. Every now and 

 again they will spring up in the air, when the click of their opposing 

 beaks can be plainly heard. The victor retires singing, commonly 

 accompanied by a female, who will sometimes, indeed, participate 

 in these brawls. 1 The evidence of all other observers, however, 

 seems to contradict Naumann's interpretation of the conduct of 

 these birds, who seems to have read malice into mere acts of playful- 

 ness, though doubtless, occasionally, some anger may be displayed. 



1 Seebohm, British Birds, vol. ii. p. 268; Selous, Bird- Watching, pp. 35-49; Naumann, 

 Naturgeschichte der Vogel Mitteleuropas, vol. iii. p. 23. 



