  We present the first direct measurement of the spatial cross-correlation
function of high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) and active OB star-forming
complexes in the Milky Way. This result relied on a sample containing 79 hard
X-ray selected HMXBs and 458 OB associations. Clustering between the two
populations is detected with a significance above 7-sigmas for distances < 1
kpc. Thus, HMXBs closely trace the underlying distribution of the massive
star-forming regions that are expected to produce the progenitor stars of
HMXBs. The average offset of 0.4+-0.2 kpc between HMXBs and OB associations is
consistent with being due to natal kicks at velocities of the order of 100+-50
km/s. The characteristic scale of the correlation function suggests an average
kinematical age (since the supernova phase) of ~4 Myr for the HMXB population.
Despite being derived from a global view of our Galaxy, these signatures of
HMXB evolution are consistent with theoretical expectations as well as
observations of individual objects.
