Page:Territory in Bird Life by Henry Eliot Howard (London, John Murray edition).djvu/262

204 the behaviour of animals without observing the important part that habit plays in the life of the individual; an action performed to-day is liable to be repeated to-morrow and the following day until it becomes ingrained in the life of the individual. This must not be taken to mean, however, that a particular action has to be performed for many days in succession before it becomes definitely fixed; if only it is repeated a number of times, even within the space of a few hours, it will acquire sufficient strength for its continuance; but continued repetition gives increased fixity, and, as time goes by, it becomes increasingly difficult for the creature to make a change unless the character of the situation necessitates readjustment.

For example, when the organic condition which leads to nest-building becomes active, the bird tentatively collects some of the necessary material in its bill, flies round with it, and then drops it. After a while it collects some more, and this time leaves it perhaps in a bush. Later on it makes another attempt, and, meeting with a situation which calls forth the appropriate response, it thereupon lays the foundation of the structure. We will assume that the nest is placed in the midst of a tangled bush. Well, the bird lays the first strands of the foundation and then goes in search of more material. The next time it approaches the nest from the opposite side of the bush, and presently it finds yet a third entrance. But each entrance is not made use of in turn: one is employed