GRAY KINGBIRD 43 



very well. Perhaps it would be a little more accurate to say that 

 the gray kingbird is seldom quiet! Whether the bird is sitting on 

 the watch for prey or actually engaging in the chase, whether on 

 guard at the nest or "making a passage" somewhere, the shrill, chat- 

 tering notes are more likely to be uttered than not. Descriptions of 

 bird notes by means of words are often wide of the mark. It is a 

 difficult matter except in some few striking cases to render avian 

 vocal sounds into English or other words. However, it seems to 

 be the only way to give any idea as to what they are. In the case 

 of dominicensis there are several interpretations, but all convey much 

 the same idea. 



Richard Hill says that it utters "a ceaseless shriek," being a repeti- 

 tion of three notes like the word "pe-cheer-y." This is the commonest 

 term used to describe the notes. They are, definitely, three-syllabled, 

 with the accent on the second. F. M. Weston's comment on the voice 

 follows : 



"The gray kingbird is even noisier than the eastern kingbird. The 

 usual written description of its notes, although poor, is adequate, 

 and, in my own experience, gave me instant recognition of the first 

 gray kingbird I ever heard, even before I saw it. However, it was 

 the quality of the sound that indicated a kingbird of some- sort, 

 and my recollection of the accenting of the written words that led 

 to the recognition of the species. On one occasion, I heard an eastern 

 kingbird give an exact imitation of the notes of its larger relative." 



The last sentence is commended to readers living in the range of 

 the gray kingbird. As characteristic as are the notes of this bird, 

 it will be noted that T. tyrannus is capable of mimicry, and records 

 of birds heard but not seen should be verified. Doubtless this is 

 unusual; indeed, it is the sole instance of the kind that has come 

 to my notice, but if one common kingbird can imitate notes, others 

 can. It is an extremely interesting and important bit of information. 



Frank M. Chapman (1912) describes the gray kingbird's notes 

 as "pitirri[e]," a term applied in Cuba for the common name of the 

 species. Indeed, the majority of vernacular names are derived from 

 the voice, as might be expected. James Bond (1936) lists other names 

 as follows: Petchary (Jamaica); fighter, christomarie, pick-peter 

 (Bahamas) ; pewitler (Barbados) ; pipiri (Lesser Antilles) ; chicheri 

 (Virgin Islands) ; pitirre (Cuba, Puerto Rico) ; titirre (Dominica) ; 

 pipirite (Haiti). It will be recalled that Audubon wrote of the bird 

 under the name of pipiry flycatcher. The phonetic similarity be- 

 tween all these names is striking, particularly the last five, which 

 are all but identical. The name "fighter" (Bahamas) is obviously 

 drawn from other characteristics, and in view of J. H. Riley's 



