BKITISH WARBLERS 



Can we then regard it as a meaningless habit acquired by 

 a male here and a male there during the few days of 

 bachelor life ? Surely not, yet it is difficult to indicate the pre- 

 cise meaning that may be attached to it. Sufficient time can 

 scarcely have elapsed in those few days for a habit of such 

 evident strength to have been formed. Possibly it is not a 

 habit in the sense of something acquired, but rather a 

 congenital endowment common to the race, and let us bear 

 in mind that his behaviour is quite in keeping with that which 

 we can observe in the life of many another species. The disposi- 

 tion to favour some special tree or group of trees within the 

 confines of that which we have called a territory and make of 

 it a headquarters, the eagerness with which it is afterwards 

 sought and made use of, and the reluctance with which it is 

 ultimately yielded to the more pressing matters of reproduc- 

 tion, all point to something more than individual fancy, 

 something definite in fact to be attained, for which racial 

 preparation has probably fitted the birds. 



In some cases the period between the arrival of a female 

 in a territory and the commencement of the nest is of remark- 

 ably short duration, but whether this is the rule or the 

 exception I cannot say with the records of only a few pairs 

 to rely upon. The female may even commence to build upon 

 the day following her arrival, and one wonders why this 

 should not be the invariable procedure, instead of the pro- 

 crastination so frequently observed, and of which we really 

 have no explanation. The period of sexual activity is pro- 

 ductive of much emotional behaviour, which, though it never 

 reaches the degree of extravagance attained by some species, 

 possesses some interesting features to which attention must be 

 called. The climax of this behaviour is reached, as we should 

 expect, during or just prior to the actual discharge of the 

 sexual function, but I do not mean that the final stage is always 

 reached ; there is often excitement on the part of one or of 

 perhaps both sexes which clearly does not materialise, why 

 we do not exactly know. If the completion of the sexual act 



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