Page:Territory in Bird Life by Henry Eliot Howard (London, John Murray edition).djvu/355

tion within a comparatively short distance of their base, or they may come into competition with rivals and fail, not necessarily on account of any congenital weakness of ability, but because, being warned by an alien song, they may be precluded from coming into contact with just the environing conditions which can supply the stimulus and allow behaviour to run its further course—and so be obliged to extend their search into remoter districts. But it must not be overlooked that they will be placed in a most advantageous position so far as the attainment of reproduction is concerned. In their search for territory they will meet with little opposition and will be free to select whatsoever ground they will; and be free also from intrusion by neighbouring males, which is so frequent in occurrence and continues for so long in congested areas. Moreover, in thinly populated districts, the pressure upon the available means of support will not be so great, neither will natural enemies be so plentiful; and since the offspring, guided by prior experience, return to the neighbourhood of their birthplace, the advantages thus gained will be shared by the succeeding generation. It follows, then, that the range of a species will not always be continuous, will not, that is to say, proceed by a series of successive steps, but that sometimes in this direction and at other times in that, the chain of territories will be interrupted and different individuals separated by distances of greater or lesser