114 



The Irish Naturalist. 



October, 



Earliest song is always foreshadowed by the well-known 

 chirps in sets of three or two. The first song was January 

 26th ; it was generally incomplete. By February iith song 

 was general. The routine is to sing, then go clean away 

 to feed, then back to territory to sing. By March 5th 

 some early pairs could be noted. Nothing can be plainer 

 than that the arrival of a female puts a brake on the 

 song. Even if the female be only a very temporary 

 companion this can often be noticed, but when she is a 

 settled companion it is still more definite. The very earliest 

 pairs seem to cease song quicker after pairing than the later 

 ones. But song continues more or less strongly in the 

 presence of a female when the mateship is not fully settled. 

 And when the female is still a free lance and on the 

 boundaries of a territory, the male seems to leave her and 

 go to the centre of his territory to sing, as if to test her 

 attitude to him in that way ; or it may just be more 

 evidence of the strong impulse to sing at " headquarters." 

 Of course under such circumstances he fights with neigh- 

 bouring cocks who would be rivals for her. Song while 

 reduced may not be entirely off till the nest is begun. 

 All normal nests were begun in the first twelve days of 

 April, hence there was no general song after then till June 

 (see below), but nevertheless there was strong particular 

 song from those males who remained longer or shorter 

 unmated. I have suggested that song entirely ceases 

 on nest building, but I do not think it is a hard and 

 fast rule in all cases, or debars an occasional few mftiutes 

 of song in some cases, especially at sunset. Such 

 apparently exceptional song requires further clearing 

 up than my notes afford. But the quantity of such 

 song seems vague and small, while the song from still 

 unmated males was absolutely clear and outstanding. 

 There is no vestige of song after the young are hatched. 



As the unmated males got mates there was by the middle 

 of May hardly any song at all. But in the last days of 

 May and first days of June there was an extraordinary 

 revival of song (noted in previous years also). Some, if 

 not all, of these new singers seemed to correspond in territory 

 and perches with the earlier spring nesters, and would 



