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55

Atlapetes, May 24, 1961, III.

sometimes repeated quite rapidly, but never, apparently, accelerated into a Trill.  I think these "Tsit"s must be ordinary CN's or AlCN's.

On May 20, near Nono, I watched a pair of birds feeding in a hedge around 9:10 a.m. One of the birds uttered a series of faint, hoarse, rather high-pitched notes: "Zaa zaa zaa-zaa zaa-zaa zaa zaa zaa zaa-zaa-zaa....." almost continuously as the birds moved along the hedge.

This evening I observed a rather similar performance near Nono. Again watching a pair feeding in, and moving along a hedge (this may have been the same pair observed on May 20). Again, one or both of the birds uttered faint, hoarse, rather high-pitched notes as they moved. Usually the leading bird, I think. But I transcribed the notes tonight as "Seeee seeee seeee seeee...." I think these notes must have been essentially the same as the notes heard on May 20.

I first heard the "Seeee" Notes this evening when I was some distance away from the birds. When I went closer, they stopped uttering "Seee"s and began to utter "Tsit"s. A few minutes later, presumably after they had become used to me, they switched back to "Seee"s This would suggest that the "Tsit"s are AlCN's.

These "Seeee" and "Zaa" Notes sound very much like the "greeting" notes I heard in 1960 and 1959 (see also below); and they must, I think, be closely related to the "greeting" notes. They are also reminiscent of the SN's, PCN's, etc. of other species. I think they must be used to call in, or keep in contact with, the mate.

They are remarkably similar, both in sound and (probably) context, to the "Zeeee" and "Seeee" Notes of the Dubusias I have been studying.