REED WARBLER 



respectively to certain parts of the pool, resent any intrusion 

 thereon, and that as the days pass by, the pool, upon which 

 formerly it was no uncommon sight to see eight or more 

 birds in company, will be inhabited by two or three pairs 

 only, each possessing a definite territory, and also that 

 they still jealously guard their respective territories, resist- 

 ing any intrusion on the part of their neighbours. In order 

 to see the struggles to the best advantage, it is necessary 

 that the pool should be kept under observation from daylight, 

 for, strange as it may seem, the conflicts appear to be of 

 more frequent occurrence at dawn ; there are, in fact, some 

 grounds for believing that many a battle is fought and many 

 a territory won or lost during the hours of the night. So 

 strongly implanted is the law of territory in this species, 

 that a young one of not more than ten days old will attack 

 such a bird as a Starling when settled upon the edge of the 

 w T ater, resembling the adults in its method of attack. Coots 

 {Fulica atrd) also struggle fiercely for their territories, like- 

 wise Stonechats (Pratincola nibicola), and the attitudes 

 assumed by the male of the latter species when another 

 male, or another pair, approaches its property are extravagant 

 and often ludicrous. Both sexes of the Chaffinch are highly 

 pugnacious at this season, and their habits are easily observed. 

 This bird being a very common species, it often happens that 

 some small but suitable wood is inhabited by a number of pairs 

 and divided into adjoining territories. Early in March the 

 males establish themselves in a certain small area, and each 

 morning at daybreak can be heard vigorously pouring out 

 their song. When a female arrives in one of their territories, 

 there is considerable commotion. Sexual excitement takes 

 the form of prolonged flights. Eising above the tops of the 

 trees the female flies away, followed by the male, and often 

 a considerable distance has been thus traversed before a 

 return is made to the territory. As a consequence of this 

 the female, more often than the male, passes the boundary, 

 intruding upon the adjoining territory, and thus it happens 



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