94 BULLETIN 208, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Province by Gordon A. Ranger, to whom I am indebted for them). 

 This call is a series of rather ringing, mellow, and plaintive whistled 

 notes, varying in number from 1 or 2 to 6, with an interval of a few 

 seconds between the series. The notes may be written foyt-Joyt-foyt, 

 with the interval between them about half a second. It is uttered 

 both in the morning and in the afternoon. Ranger had known this 

 call for a number of years, but was unable to attribute it with certainty 

 to Indicator variegatus or to the commoner species, Indicator indicator. 

 On July 8, 1951, he heard the call nearby in the streamside forest, and 

 then heard it repeated, whereupon he imitated the sound. Immedi- 

 ately a scaly-throated honey-guide came and perched so close to him 

 that it was out of focus in his binoculars. As it moved off a little he 

 was able to satisfy himself of its identity. To quote from his letter: 



The bird was so interested and responsive to my whistle-imitation after this 

 that I kept it flying about me. Another bird, which I thought to be /. indicator, 

 appeared and chased it oflF two or three times, but it returned each time in response 

 to my call. . . . Variegatus uttered incomplete calls during this play and spe- 

 cially when out of my sight, and then my imitation brought it back to me. 



Now, when I walked on in the forest the bird accompanied me, first at my whis- 

 tling its call as I went, and then apparently purely through interest in myself 

 who had uttered the imitation. It went ahead of me — not in my line, but in a 

 parallel line about 30 yards from mine — uttering its call at times. I imitated it 

 and when I ceased to do so it still followed. When I emerged from the forest 

 edge it followed, not called by me, keeping in the edge (of the forest] below me and 

 ascending a narrow ravine-arm which I crossed ahead of it. As I diverged from 

 the line of this ravine the bird flew out toward me a little in ascending the ravine, 

 calling, and continuing to call when it reached the furthermost point where 

 it perched in view low down. As it appeared disposed not to follow me over 

 the grass hillslope I called repeatedly as I withdrew but it did not follow . . . 

 The distance it followed and accompanied me is about 300 yards. 



A week later, with the new knowledge outlined above. Ranger went 

 to the favored call site where he had listened to the bird giving its 

 purring "song" for many years. 



At 30 paces from the bird and out of its sight, I sat down and imitated the 

 whistle call. Almost immediately the site bird flew from its post directly to me 

 and alighted 12 feet from me and 7 feet above the ground. It was wide awake 

 in attitude and after a few seconds uttered its site call (purring note), and, after 

 the usual interval, a second time. Then, turning my face away from the bird, 

 I whistled the imitation of the whistle-call three times with proper interval. The 

 bird's reaction was to peer very intently among the surrounding trees, but then 

 it seemed to satisfy itself that a fellow bird was not present and flew back to its 

 call post and resumed calling (i. e., giving the purring note). Now, when I re- 

 peated the whistle call, it came only half way toward me, and further tempting 

 by me was unavailing. It flew back to its site post when I moved toward it and 

 continued its calling. Two more attempts to induce it to investigate my whistle- 

 calling uttered from other and more distant quarters proved fruitless. The bird 

 took no further notice and proceeded with its call-site calling. The question 

 'why did this bird disregard my further attempts to attract it,' is asked ... Is 



