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Atlapetes, Jun. 2, 1960, II

few glimpses I did manage to get), that all or most of these notes were uttered when the bird was on the ground or (less probably) when it was in low bushes very close to the ground.

At this point, I began to think that the "Soo-eeeeee" Notes might be the song of the species; and I tried to track down the bird by moving through the bushes. This apparently frightened the bird It immediately fell silent and moved away from me. Then it started to utter "Soo-eeeeeee" notes, as before, about 10 yds further away.

This incident would indicate that the "Soo-eeeeeee" Notes can not be a form of AlCN - and might suggest that they are not hostile.

A few minutes later, I heard similar "Soo-eeeeeee" Notes coming from low inside very shrubby vegetation, in an entirely different place! I never caught the briefest glimpse of the bird uttering these notes But the area from whence the notes were coming was an area where we saw a pair of Black-headed Atlapetes a couple of days ago.

Still later I surprised a single Black-head feeding on a path. It immediately flew into a nearby bush, and, after a brief pause, began to utter "Soo-eeeeeee" Notes just like the other birds. Again, I couldn't see it while it was actually uttering the notes. This bird gradually moved off through or under the bushes, still uttering the same notes as it went

Finally, at a fourth spot, I heard identical "Soo-eeeeeee" Notes, again coming from low in the vegetation or the ground. I am sure that this bird was not aware of my presence for a long time. It sat or stood in the same spot for at least several minutes, uttering the notes quite regularly. Again, I was unable to see the bird. When I moved forward to try to get a glimpse of it, it immediately fell silent.

All these incidents would indicate that the series of single "Soo-eeeeeee" Notes are really the "advertising" song of the species. Presumably

Transcription Notes:
Changed "foo-eeeee"s to "Soo-eeeee"s Changed "AlCN" to "alarm" Changed alarm back to AlCN to follow original text