LAZULI BUNTING 127 



that he could not stay longer to determine whether both females 

 started nest-building." 



Voice. — The song of this species has been characterized by various 

 authors as lively and pleasing (Audubon, 1841); vivacious, high- 

 pitched, intricate, rapid, and varied (C. A. Keeler, 1899); a bright 

 and musical finch-type, and like that of Oreospiza and Chondestes, 

 having a marked burr (F. M. Bailey, 1902); a weak song (W. A. 

 EHot, 1923); a cheerful little song, warblerUke in character (M. H. 

 Lee, 1920); a hurried, shrill song (Grinnell, 1912); a rapidly uttered 

 musical jingle (Wyman, 1925), and a high and strident finch song 

 with well-measured phrases at varying pitches (Peterson, 1941). 



It was transcribed by J. Grinnell and T. I. Storer (1924) as: see- 

 see-see, sweert, sweert, sweert, zee, see, sweet, zeer, see-see. They state: 

 "These notes follow one another with rapidity; it is really with diffi- 

 culty that any syllabic rendering, such as the one just given, can be 

 made." In addition they describe it as set in character, with certain 

 syllables added or dropped but the general theme remaining the same. 

 C. A. Keeler (1899) transcribed it as "tit-a-trea-trea-trea; tree, tree, 

 trea, tree, tree; trit-a-tree, tree, tree," but adds "the ending of the song 

 is frequently lost in a confused jumble of sweet tones." R. T, Peter- 

 son (1941) comments that the introductory notes are usually paired, 

 and R. Hoffmann (1927) states that "the song is best distinguished by 

 its marked division into short phrases which vary distinctly in pitch, 

 generally beginning high, falling to successively lower levels and then 

 rising again." 



Its song resembles that of the indigo bunting but is distinguishable 

 from it as appreciably weak, less warblerlike, definite, and not ram- 

 bling. It has also been compared with the voices of other species. 

 J. Grinnell and T. I. Storer (1924) describe the song as "rather high 

 pitched, Hke that of the Cahfornia Yellow Warbler, yet it is not nearly 

 so shrill," while C. Barlow (1902) says that the song of the rufous- 

 crowned sparrow has been "hkened to that of the Lazuli Bunting," 

 but sees "little resemblance save in the general trUhng style. The 

 sparrow's note is much stronger * * *." 



The song is usually given from a high, open perch such as the top 

 branches of a moderate-sized oak, sycamore, yeUow pine, willow, or 

 other tree, or from telephone wires, or if no higher perch is available, 

 from the topmost twig of the tallest shrub in the area. 



The lazuli is a persistent singer. J. Grinnell and T. I. Storer (1924) 

 state: "It does not confine its utterances to the morning and early 

 evening hours, but is heard if anything less often at those times than 

 during the warmest part of the day. In our memory the song is 

 associated with the drowsy heat of early afternoon." This persistence 



