Eventually the carrying capacity of the habitat is reached and no further partitioning occurs. The beginning of nestbuilding coincides with this relative stabilization of the territorial boundaries. Through the remainder of the cycle of behavior associated with any one nest, all activity is that of the occupant pair within its territory.
The nine original territories established in 1960 varied in size from 0.26 acre to 3.1 acres (Table 2). Fitch (1958:270) found the territories of several pairs of Bell Vireos at the University of Kansas Natural History Reservation to vary from 0.4 to 1 acre. Hensley (1950:243) estimated the size of the territory of a pair of Bell Vireos observed in Piatt County, Illinois, at 3.1 acres. Nolan (1960:227) records home ranges of 2 to 3 acres. The pairs that he studied were sole occupants of fields several acres larger than the portions actually utilized. His description of the vegetation indicates that most of the second growth was not much taller than 7 feet. As indicated elsewhere, the second-growth in my tract averaged 15 feet tall. The smaller average size of territory (1.25 acres) that I found is probably a function both of this greater vertical range of available foraging area and the much higher gross density of birds (40 pairs per 100 acres).
Most pairs remain in their original territories throughout the summer, although some shift certain territorial boundaries. In 1960 pairs 2 and 6, in the course of selecting a site for a replacement nest, annexed adjacent areas previously occupied by other pairs. Pair 2 relocated in a space that originally included territories 1 and 4, and pair 6 built a nest in an area formerly occupied by pair 7. Males 1 and 4 were sacrificed for specimens and pair 7 probably was destroyed by a predator. Owing to the presence of a nest, the annexed area becomes the focal point of the activities of a pair, but the original area is regularly visited and may be returned to in a later renesting.
TABLE 2. SIZE OF THE NINE ORIGINAL TERRITORIES OCCUPIED IN 1960.
========================================== | Date first | Territory | occupied | Dimensions -------------+--------------+------------- 1. | May 3, 1960 | 1.6 acres 2. | May 5, 1960 | 0.6 acre 3. | May 7, 1960 | 0.26 acre 4. | May 11, 1960 | 1.03 acres 5. | May 12, 1960 | 2.07 acres 6. | May 14, 1960 | 3.1 acres 7. | May 13, 1960 | 1.7 acres 8. | May 14, 1960 | 0.46 acre 9. | May 14, 1960 | 0.4 acre -------------+--------------+------------- Average 1.25 acres