THE THRUSH GENUS 363 



martially erect, flicking the tail of scorn, and sounding notes of battle. 

 The attitude of song-thrushes about to engage is a familiar sight in the 

 spring. Their heads lowered and stretched aggressively forward, their 

 tails bent downward, they stand ready to spring up and close, and 

 are, it must be added, prepared to stand thus for long before 

 actually striking a blow. There is no fiery haste to win the fair 

 one ; but there is much chasing and counter-chasing, with intervals 

 for song, and also for refreshment. The fights may be varied by 

 outbursts of song, and a mistle-thrush has been seen to suddenly 

 utter a paean of triumph when in full flight after a routed 

 rival. 



The duels, like the sexual displays, continue for some time after 

 the birds are paired and the eggs are in the nest. The latest 

 note I have of such an encounter is dated April 30, that is, at 

 the time when young are already in the nest. The combatants were 

 two thrushes, who had been fighting before I came up, continued 

 fighting for the quarter of an hour I watched them, and were still 

 at it when I left. They fought in the air, rising from the ground or 

 from a branch, apparently striking with claws and wings, snapping 

 their mandibles, and uttering a rapid excited ptik ! less " clinking " 

 than a similar note uttered by two blackbirds who followed the 

 duel with keen attention ; exemplifying what has been frequently 

 observed the interest taken by one species in the disputes of 

 another. 



There is more than one way of accounting for these hostilities. 

 The first is that one cock resents, or chooses occasionally to resent, 

 according to his mood, the approach of any other cock, near his 

 mate. This other may or may not be a paired bird, for no doubt 

 there are individuals which, for one cause or another, do not breed. 

 That they are ready to do so is shown by the ease with which 

 survivors of a pair are able to find a new mate. 1 The second is that 

 each pair lays claim to a certain area of ground in the neighbour- 



1 See p. 56, above. 



