Telit De. BD OrNe BU 4 El N 20 
The male Cardinal attempts to scare away all competition and attract or lure 
a mate. 
Another device used successfully to establish territories is the “blaze” 
tree of the male bear. Scents of the fox, wolf and bumble bee are examples 
used to establish individual territory rights. Examples of a warning signal 
include the song of the Cardinal, the howl of monkeys, the dance and 
booming of the prairie grouse. Each is a defense signal that attempts to 
warn the males of the same species and all intruders that this is home 
territory—and stay out. 
Just as there are definite “peck orders” in birds and leader rights 
among animals in herds, the most aggressive and dominate individual 
dominates the largest territory, providing assurance for the requirement 
essential to its success. Competition and crowding are harrassments that 
are undesirable and avoided where possible. Fighting, singing, crowding, 
booming, and dancing are all display defense measurements which attempt 
to lessen the competition and crowding. The space is needed for providing 
nesting sites and for brood rearing. Brood rearing requirements vary as 
to needs of individual species. A rabbit may occupy a single acre ... a pair 
of foxes, a five mile radius ... a Norway rat, only a few rods ... a mouse, 
a single kitchen ... a blue jay, a complete acre ... a prairie grouse, a 
7-by-10-foot booming area, undisturbed nesting and brood rearing grass- 
lands, insects and berries to feed the young and tall cover to escape a 
Marsh Hawk. 
A grouse population is controlled by built-in homeostatic regulatory 
mechanisms—specific behavior based in all factors which affect its food 
supply and breeding. space. By “staking out” a courtship or booming 
ground territory, each male competes vigorously with other males for 
space and breeding rights. By aggressive postures, vigorous strutting, 
booming, and plumage display, each male tends to express his dominance, 
i.e., “Speck order” over other males. Rivalry determines a specific behavior. 
Each male knows each competitor and his individual social standing. The 
individual territories are held by the dominant males the year round; the 
more aggressive the male, the larger is the territory. 
Prairie chicken courtship behavior, on the “booming ground,’ demon- 
strates a highly specialized form of bird courtship in which the successful 
males are polygamous and the females are promiscuous. The female usually 
chooses the mate. No lasting ties are formed; the male assumes no nesting, 
or brood-rearing responsibilities, but loafs the lazy spring days away 
while the hen incubates the eggs and raises the family. Known as the 
arena system, it establishes a hierarchy: the most vigorous cock has the 
largest and most strategic, dominant or key position. The “flock master” 
mates with the greatest number of hens. The more timid males act only 
as reserve, holding no territory, nor mating with any hens. They are 
squeezed out, being at the bottom of the social ladder, often being left 
outside the flock or driven away. Males compete at dawn and dusk in 
synchronized outbursts of courtship frenzy—such stress being equal to the 
crowding. 
The most prominent activity occurs early in the breeding season. The 
more males there are, the keener becomes the competition, the greater 
the frenzy of the booming activity. Males display in contest with other 
males for space estate and status. Excessive stress drives out the weaker 
males, with often-accompanying increased mortality, thus regulating the 
population to a constant or optimal density. The homeostatic patterns of 
behavior of any species, which result in crowding, develop stress between 
