WESTEEN TAN AGES 495 



noted in Yosemite Valley up until September 5 of the same year. In 1920 

 tanagers were observed regularly until the middle of September; the last 

 ilidividual was noted on September 28 (C. W. Michael, MS). All are 

 gone certainly before the first of October. 



The vocabulary of the Western Tanager is not elaborate. The song 

 is but little more than a repetition of notes like those which constitute 

 the call. There is a peculiar droning quality to the utterances which makes 

 them readily distinguishable from those of other birds. Once learned, the 

 notes are the best clue to the presence of tanagers, either when they are 

 on their nesting grounds in the mountains or when they are passing in 

 migration through the lowland country. The call note is a drawling, 

 two-syllabled prit-it or pree-tert, sometimes changed to a more abrupt 

 cher-tig, or chee-tik. The song consists of a rapid repetition of the syllables 

 cher'-wer, sometimes modified to chee'-wer, or chir'-rup, or zer'-wer, or 

 zee'-wer. The song season of the tanagers lasts from the time of their 

 arrival on their nesting grounds until some time in July. The tanager 

 sings at all hours of the day. It begins almost as early as the wood pewee 

 and the robin. At El Portal on May 31, 1915, our notes record the tanager 

 .as the most insistent singer in the morning chorus there. At least four 

 were within hearing of the hotel at 4 :30 a.m. They were also singing until 

 late dusk of evening. 



The Western Tanager is a bird of deliberate movement ; indeed it might 

 even be characterized as apathetic in temperament. In perching, foraging, 

 or flying, its demeanor is ever the same; this sedateness of manner seems 

 never to be lost, even under stress of sudden surprise. It may be that 

 this mode of behavior is related to the male's brilliant coloration. In a 

 bird the size of a tanager showing large areas of bright color, quick move- 

 ments like those of a warbler would almost surely serve to draw attention. 

 But by adopting a slow deliberate type of action the tanager is much more 

 likely to escape observation, despite its bright coloration. Frequently we 

 have gazed at a tree for some moments before realizing that a Western 

 Tanager was sitting there in plain sight before us. The fact is, that the 

 bird had escaped detection. Whether this is to be explained on the basis 

 of protective, concealing, or disruptive coloration is a matter for specu- 

 lation. However this may be, the factor of the bird's quietude seems to 

 us to play an important role in its protection. 



We learned of no case of a tanager being beset by any sort of enemy. 

 Only one instance of death from natural cause came to our notice. This 

 was at Mono Lake Post Office on May 24, 1916, following a night when 

 snow fell. A pair of tanagers that had roosted in an old building were 

 found dead and frozen in the morning, but whether the cold itself was 

 the direct cause of death was not determined. 



