Page:Territory in Bird Life by Henry Eliot Howard (London, John Murray edition).djvu/26

4 that; by all those movements, in fact, which the term migration, widely applied, is held to denote. Now the impulse which prompts these travelling hosts must be similar in kind whether the journey be long or short; and it were better, one would think, to regard such movements as a whole than to fix the attention on some one particular journey which fills us with amazement on account of the magnitude of the distance traversed or the nature of the difficulties overcome. For, after all, what does each individual seek? There may be some immature birds which, though they have not reached the necessary stage of development, happen to fall in with others in whom the impulse is strong and are led by them—they know not where. But the majority seek neither continent nor country, neither district nor locality is their aim, but a place wherein the rearing of offspring can be safely accomplished; and the search for this place is the earliest visible manifestation in many species of the reawakening of the sexual instinct.

The movements of each individual are then directed towards a similar goal, namely, the occupation of a definite station; and this involves for many species a distinct change in the routine of behaviour to which previously they had been accustomed. Observe, for example, one of the numerous flocks of Finches that roam about the fields throughout the winter. Though it may be composed of large numbers of individuals of different kinds, yet the various units form an amicable society actuated by