108 DISPOSITION TO DEFEND THE TERRITORY 



simply offshoots of the pugnacious disposition, 

 and have no part to play in the process of 

 reproduction ? They recur with marked persist- 

 ency season after season and generation after 

 generation ; they are to be found in species 

 widely remote ; they are frequent in occurrence ; 

 and no one who had observed them and noted 

 the vigour with which they are conducted, could, 

 I think, conclude that they were meaningless 

 and be satisfied. They must somehow be 

 explained. So that if anyone thinks fit to 

 maintain that possession of a mate is an adequate 

 explanation of part of the hostilities, it is clearly 

 impossible to regard all the fighting as a 

 manifestation of one principle directed towards 

 a common biological end. 



But wherever we extend our researches, we 

 find that the facts give precision to the view that 

 the occupation of a territory is the condition 

 under which the pugnacious instinct is rendered 

 susceptible to stimulation. The Lapwing, when 

 in its territory, displays hostility towards other 

 males of its own species, but when upon neutral 

 ground, treats them with indifference ; the Chiff- 

 chaff pursues its rival up to the boundary and is 

 then apparently satisfied that its object has been 

 achieved ; the cock Chaffinch in March permits 

 no other male to intrude upon its acre or so of 

 ground during the early hours of the morning, 

 but for the rest of the day it joins the flock 

 and is sociable ; the Herring- Gull resents the 

 approach of strangers so long as it occupies its 

 few square feet of cliff, but welcomes companions 



