ner, peck at it; and gradually the hostility grew,
until the tentative pecking developed into a scuffle and the scuffle
into a conflict.

Much fighting also occurs between the females of the Reed-Bunting, and
likewise between those of the Moor-Hen, and because these two species
are not only common but inhabit respectively open stretches of marshy
ground or large sheets of water, the fighting can be readily observed.

Why do the females fight before they are definitely paired? To obtain
mates? This certainly seems to be the obvious explanation because any
question of securing territory can be excluded; yet if it be true that
their sex is numerically inferior, it is difficult to understand the
necessity for such strenuous competition. But what is the condition
under which the pugnacious instinct of the female is rendered
susceptible to stimulation? It cannot be merely the presence of a male
ready to breed, for then there would be endless commotion amongst the
flocks of Chaffinches or of Lapwings which in March are composed of both
sexes, including even males that have secured territories. There must be
some other circumstance; and, judging by experience, it is to be found
in the territory--a male, that is to say, in occupation of one, is the
condition under which the inherited nature of the female is allowed free
play. We must bear in mind, however, that the competition between the
males is very severe, that large numbers probably fail to pass even this
preliminary test, and that only a proportion are in a position to offer
to the female the condition under which her process can successfully run
its course; so that the presumption is--though it is incapable of
demonstration--that there is a competition for such males each recurring
season, and that, on the average, the weaker females fail to procreate
their kind.

But apart from any direct assistance she may give in driving away
intruders, does she in any way help to further the biological end of
reproduction? This is a difficult question to answer, and the suggestion
I have to make can only apply in those cases in which the territory is
occupied throughout the breeding season. Much of the fighting between
the males occurs in her presence, and it must be admitted--though it is
difficult to speak with any degree of certainty--that such fighting,
taken as a whole, bears the stamp of exceptional determination. Let us
then grant that the excitement of a male does, under the