Page:Which Sex Selects the Nesting Locality - William Henry Mousley - The Auk, 38(3) - P0321-p0328.pdf/8

328 There, however, the male Guillemots (Uria troille troille) have to be content with laying claim to a very small area on one of the ledges of rock, (owing to the countless thousands that breed in close proximity) which area becomes the general nesting site, and on which perforce the female is compelled to deposit her egg, without much latitude for selecting an exact spot.

In conclusion, it seems to me that the remarks at the end of my paper 'A Study of Subsequent Nestings' (already referred to) are also very appropriate here, i.e. the more we study these interesting bird problems the more is it brought home to us how very little we really know concerning them, and at best our solutions in most cases can only be approximate ones after all. However, in the present case I think I have some good grounds for believing that the "singing tree" does serve some other purpose than that of a mere fancy title to a paper. It is surely the home of the male bird, where he awaits the coming of his bride, the place from which he loves to sing, and so in time it becomes the loadstone which eventually guides her to him. It also acts as a lookout post, from which he can perceive any encroachment on his domain and at once resent it by immediately attacking the intruder, which is plain to be seen almost any day during the breeding season. But it accomplishes one other thing also, I think, for it surely demonstrates that of the two sexes the male in the majority of cases really selects or establishes (call it which you like) the general nesting site, which is the main purport of this paper.

''Hatley. Stanstead Co., Que.''