CONCLUSION 67 



slit ution of the bird. In comparing the behaviour 

 of the migratory male with that of the resident, 

 attention was drawn to the manner in which 

 the occupation of a territory was effected : the 

 former bird, it may be remembered, established 

 itself without delay, whereas the latter did so 

 only by decrees, and the difference was attributed 

 to the incidence of migration which required 

 a closer correspondence between organic process 

 and external environment. But the significance 

 for us just now lies in the fact that the definite- 

 ness, which accompanies the initial behaviour of 

 the migratory male in relation to the territory, 

 cannot have been acquired by repetition ; for 

 this reason, that when the male occupies its 

 space of ground at the end of its long and 

 arduous journey, it does so without preparation 

 or experiment, even without hesitation, as if 

 aware that it was making good the first step in 

 the process of reproduction. No doubt, if it 

 happened to be an individual that had already 

 experienced the enjoyment of reproduction, it 

 might be aware of the immediate results to be 

 achieved and act accordingly. But among the 

 hosts of migrants that one observes, there must 

 be many males which have not previously mated ; 

 and yet, upon arrival, they all behave in a 

 similarly definite manner so that experience 

 cannot well be the primary factor in the situa- 

 tion. If, then, the essential condition of habit 

 formation is absent and experience is eliminated, 

 there is nothing left but racial preparation to fall 

 back upon. 



F 



