= Territory
A <territory> is an area that an animal or group defends against others in a specified context, such as access to food, mates or a nest. A <home range> instead describes the area normally used. An animal can visit a large <home range> while defending only one part of it, and repeated use alone does not demonstrate defence.
Defence need not involve continuous fighting. <John Krebs> and collaborators studied territorial <birdsong> in the <great tit>. Their 1978 paper describes experiments that removed resident pairs and occupied their former territories with loudspeakers. New pairs settled more quickly in control areas than in areas occupied by playback, supporting a role for acoustic signals in maintaining exclusion.<Song repertoires and territory defence in the great tit by John Krebs and others>[Publisher abstract; removal, loudspeaker occupation and control-area settlement]{ref} The comparison changes an apparent occupancy cue while removing the original owners, helping separate the effect of song from the mere presence of a resident bird.
For an observational example, a cluster of <animal radiotelemetry> positions may establish concentrated space use. Calling that cluster a <territory> additionally requires evidence such as exclusion, boundary displays or a response to an intruder. A location map alone cannot supply that behavioural conclusion.
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