REED WARBLER 



which I shall presently give, I am inclined to think that the 

 possession of a territory is of greater importance to the male, 

 and is the direct cause of these struggles, which are conse- 

 quently presented to us in a somewhat different light. 



I well remember some years ago in the month of March 

 being attracted by piteous cries which were proceeding from 

 some willows that grew in an old bed of the Eiver Severn. 

 Quietly approaching the spot, I saw a male Blackbird (Turdus 

 meruld) hopping about in front of a small clump of dead 

 vegetation, into the middle of which he w 7 as at short intervals 

 angrily darting, and from which, as he thus darted forward, 

 there arose the cries referred to. After watching the proceed- 

 ings for a short time, I examined the dead vegetation and 

 there found another male Blackbird crouching beneath the 

 dead grass, in such a state of exhaustion as to be unable to 

 stand, but only to roll from side to side, the feathers torn from 

 its head, and traces of blood showing how severe a punishment 

 had been administered. Raising it carefully from the ground, 

 I removed it some distance away, hoping that it might even- 

 tually recover. Every spring the male Blackbirds can thus 

 be seen engaged in desperate struggles. In like manner male 

 Song Thrushes pursue and fight with one another, bunches of 

 feathers being sometimes left upon the scene of the conflict. 

 Male Chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs) fight in mid-air and upon 

 the ground. The males of the Coot (Fulica atra), and Moor- 

 hen (Gallinula chloropus), frequently struggle amongst them- 

 selves, the latter both upon water and land. How pugnacious 

 the game birds become at this season is well known. I have 

 seen one cock Pheasant pursuing another in a grass meadow 

 for twenty minutes or more without a momentary pause. 

 But that such small and delicate little birds as the males of 

 the Long-tailed Tit (Acredula cauclata) should engage in 

 violent contests amongst themselves will scarcely be believed ; 

 nevertheless it is the case. Walking in the month of April 

 along a country road, I noticed something fluttering a little 

 distance ahead of me, and upon reaching the spot found two 



