70 DISPOSITION TO SECURE A TERRITORY 



be pointed to as the material ffom which a 

 definite mode of procedure would be likely to 

 emerge, is in reality behaviour of a determinate 

 sort. 



My interpretation, then, of^ the apparent 

 indecision in the behaviour of the resident male 

 is this. During the winter most species live in 

 societies, together they seek their food and 

 together they retire in the evening to the 

 accustomed roosting places ; and the association 

 of different individuals confers mutual benefits 

 upon the associates. The movements of these 

 societies are dominated by the question of food ; 

 all else is subservient, and the supply of the 

 necessary sustenance may, under certain con- 

 ditions, become a difficulty which can only be 

 met by energy and resource. After the long 

 night the sensation of hunger is strong, and the 

 birds, on awakening, fly to the accustomed 

 feeding grounds, returning again in the evening 

 to the selected spot, and by frequent repeti- 

 tion a routine becomes established. Thus 

 the behaviour of each individual is determined 

 not only by the powerful gregarious impulse 

 but also by the habits formed in connection 

 therewith during many weeks in succession. 

 Now with the rise of the appropriate organic 

 state, the disposition to seek the breeding 

 ground and there to establish itself becomes 

 dominant in the male. But the process is a 

 gradual one. There is no need, as happens 

 amongst the migrants, for the period of organic 

 change to conform rigidly to the growth of 



