Page:Territory in Bird Life by Henry Eliot Howard (London, John Murray edition).djvu/67

Rh congenial enough to entice them to disperse. But may they not have been composed of males that had failed to secure territories, or of females that had failed to discover males in possession of territories, or of both?

We have seen that, in the case of many species, each male establishes itself in a particular place at the commencement of the breeding season, even though this may mean a partial or perhaps a complete severance from former companions. We must now discuss this fact in greater detail because it is opposed to the views often held regarding the sexual behaviour of birds, and is manifestly of importance when considering the theory of breeding territory.

First, however, there is a point which requires some explanation. I speak of the same male being in the same place. How can I prove its identity? In the first place it is highly improbable that a bird which roams about within the same small area of ground, makes regular use of a certain tree and a certain branch of that tree, and observes a similar routine day after day, can be other than the same individual. But, apart from this general consideration, are there any means by which individuals of the same species can be identified? Well, there is variation in the plumage. Supposing we take a dozen cock Chaffinches and examine them carefully, we shall find slight differences in pattern and in colour—more grey