Page:The British Warblers A History with Problems of Their Lives - 7 of 9.djvu/54

 We shall probably be safe in assuming that the first females arrive very shortly after the first males. And an important point to be noticed with regard to the period of sexual activity is that the emotion displayed is far more intense than that which corresponds to it in the life of the Reed Warbler. This emotion results in motor reactions, which appear to be considerably different from those of the latter species, but, nevertheless, the difference is one of degree only. It must further be noticed that the presence of the male may evoke in the female a similarly intense sexual emotion, which will result in motor reactions bearing some resemblance to those of the male. Upon the arrival of a female the male still makes use of his headquarters, though perhaps in a lesser degree. Whenever able to tear himself away from following in her wake, he returns to his special tree—the favoured haunt of his bachelor life—and there sings or preens his feathers. As a rule it is the male that follows the female rather than the reverse. One catches glimpses of her as she passes, close to the ground, through the bushes, reeds, willows, or dense vegetation, and of him in close attendance. Then for a time they disappear from view, and there are long periods of silence, relieved only by an occasional spasmodic outburst of song. The male will then, perhaps, return to his headquarters, and, after singing there for a time, go again in search of her. Upon discovering her there may be some excitement, momentarily they seem to fiy at one another, the male uttering a short warble during the performance. This flying at one another may be better described as a dance in mid-air, and is pretty to watch. Sometimes he will sing as he flies in her direction, and often, instead of the usually more or less rapid flight, makes use of a slower flapping flight. During the outbursts of song, which occasionally he seems unable to resist, he shows whilst following her signs of evident excitement, jerking his wings or even raising them considerably. In the latter case the movement is altogether slower and not in the nature