274 Wild Life in Wales 



In any case, it is obvious that no courtship can be indulged 

 in by the way, amongst those species in which the sexes 

 arrive in separate flocks ; and it seems improbable that the 

 rule, which governs their movements, will be departed from 

 by the Pipits, Warblers, and other small passerine birds, in 

 which the sexes cannot so easily be distinguished. With 

 the Swifts, and Swallows, and perhaps with the Sandpipers, 

 the case may be different ; but whether it be so or not, the 

 procedure here seems to be much the same, and is some- 

 what as follows : 



A party, on arrival, settles itself in the valley for a day 

 or two (often by the side of the lake, or about the village ; 

 but, wherever the spot fixed upon may be, an abundance of 

 food is probably its prime attraction), and its breaking up is 

 often a very gradual process. Amongst the controlling 

 influences may be put the state of the weather, and the 

 arrival of the opposite sex ; but the first fine morning, after 

 the latter event has taken place, will probably see some 

 pairs pushing their way up the glens to favourite nesting 

 sites. Others follow more slowly, having perhaps ex- 

 perienced greater difficulty in arranging their domestic 

 affairs, or being in less of a hurry to begin housekeeping. 

 In any competition that takes place, the older males, being 

 the strongest, will, in most cases, presumably, have first call 

 in wives, and will then lead the lady of their choice to the 

 well-remembered home of former years. How interesting 

 it would be, could we know whether it is always the old 

 wife that is brought home ! Many circumstances, such as 

 peculiarities in the type of egg laid, would seem to point 

 to the fact that it is so ; but, in that case, we must surely 

 conclude that pairing for life is the rule, not the exception, 

 amongst birds, and that would give rise to several other 

 interesting questions. In such species as the Stonechat, 

 for example, it is obvious that at any rate the majority of 

 those individuals, which winter in this country, remain 

 paired ; it is equally apparent that, in the case of immigrants, 

 the sexes arrive in different parties. Why is this ? Nature 

 is not fond of wholesale deviations from rule, in matters of 

 this kind ; and even to suppose that stay-at-home birds may 



