Ensuring the birds a place in the sunThe cock birds have now, we will suppose, arrived back at, or near to, the spot where they nested last year, and any one of them may find himself in the self-same spinney, or hedgerow, or reed-bed. What are his immediate reactions ? At first, for a day or so, and especially if the weather is cold and windy, he has no very vigorous reactions to his environment. He may sing a little, and even consort at times with other cock birds of his kind, wandering around with them in the area. But we notice that certain steadily increasing tendencies are present in our bird, and these tendencies are greatly accentuated by the coming of warm spring-like conditions. We see that he exhibits an increasing tendency to stay in one particular area ; some small corner of a meadow, or a clump of trees, and that from some vantage point within this area, he sings with increasing vigour and for increasingly long periods. Soon the favoured area is rarely abandoned, and, what is more, any birds of his own species are resolutely attacked and chased away. Sometimes he will attack a bird other than one of his own species, but it is usually a case of mistaken identity, the bird often being one of similar shape and size to himself. Our cock bird thus becomes thoroughly aggressive. He shouts defiance from his vantage point, singing loud and long ; he rushes madly at birds of his own species and attempts to drive them away, using stances and attitudes in which any coloured or striking parts of his plumage may be fluffed up or erected to enhance the terror-effect. He gapes his mouth wide at his opponent and often pants visibly. Sometimes he may hiss like a snake. Usually the intruder bird rapidly removes itself from our bird's area and he returns to his vantage point to sing and watch. Our bird is pegging-out his claim to a certain area of land in which, when his hen bird arrives, the pair will most probably build their nest and rear their young.
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