BRITISH WARBLERS 



To return to the Eeed Warbler. The females often commence 

 to arrive shortly after the first males, but how soon after depends 

 upon whether the arrival of those males was an early one or the 

 reverse. They are seldom in evidence before the middle of May, 

 so that if a male arrived at the very commencement of that 

 month, fully a fortnight might elapse before pairing commenced. 

 As already mentioned, the period of migration of both sexes 

 is spread over a considerable time. The female that arrived 

 on June 21st must still be regarded as a migrant, although it 

 is quite possible that this particular bird, as also, perhaps, 

 many of the males that are very late in arriving, was only a 

 wanderer in this country, not a true migrant in the sense of 

 having only recently completed its migratory journey. However, 

 it is quite impossible to decide this ; the wandering males may 

 only be the individuals that have been unsuccessful in securing 

 a territory, the wandering females those that have been unsuc- 

 cessful in finding an unmated male in possession of a territory. 

 The fact of these observations having been made in the centre 

 of England makes such a contingency more possible than if 

 they had been made on the south or south-east coast. But 

 whether it be the case or not, it is evident that solitary males, 

 forerunners of the migratory movement, are the first to reach 

 this country, and in this respect the species resembles other 

 migratory species. The interval between the arrival of the 

 first male and the first female may vary in different species; 

 and, if this is so, we should expect it to be of shorter duration 

 in the case of those species that are accustomed to reach 

 this country in May than in those that face the cold winds 

 of March. 



The period of sexual activity is disappointing so far as 

 the attitudes assumed are concerned. There is no abnormal 

 waving of the wings and spreading of the tail, which is 

 characteristic of so many species. We may say that the 

 nervous organisation of the bird is not so highly developed 

 as that of some others, and thus attempt to account for the 

 difference, but this does not take us very far towards a 



40 



