100 DISPOSITION TO DEFEND THE TERRITORY 



the charge — and the sound of beating wings and 

 the feathers that float in the air are tokens of 

 earnestness. Such scenes are of frequent occur- 

 rence ; but the conflicts vary in intensity, and 

 the circumstances under which they occur vary 

 too, and females come and go without leaving 

 any clue as to their ultimate intentions. 



Turning now to the flock one is impressed 

 with the friendship that seems to exist between 

 the various members. There are, it is true, 

 occasional displays of pugnacity which never 

 seem to develop into anything very serious ; for 

 instance, one bird will fly at another, and a 

 momentary scuffle is followed by a short pursuit 

 but nothing more — nothing, that is to say, in 

 the least comparable with the battle previously 

 described. Of what is the flock composed? 

 Of members of both sexes. There is no difiiculty 

 in assuring oneself that this is so. But is it 

 entirely composed of individuals in whom develop- 

 ment has not reached a stage adequate for the 

 functioning of the primary dispositions ? No, 

 not entirely ; for it will be observed that its 

 number is a fluctuating one, that birds come 

 and go, and, if a close watch is kept upon the 

 different individuals as they leave, it will be 

 noticed that some at least are inmates of the 

 territories at the opposite end of the meadow — 

 the solitary members whose behaviour we were 

 recently watching. This fact is an important 

 one. We were impressed, it may be remembered, 

 with the contrast between the general behaviour 

 of the birds at the opposite ends of the meadow. 



