NO. 5 THE YELLOW-RUMPED TANAGER — MOYNIHAN 5 



utter pure Rattles much less frequently than Nasal Notes. And their 

 "Kioo" or "Klioo" Notes are relatively much less common than the 

 most similar sounding notes of crimson-backed tanagers. All three ex- 

 treme types of notes, as a group, are uttered much less frequently than 

 a great variety of other notes which sound, to human ears, more or 

 less intermediate between the extremes. 



There does in fact seem to be almost complete morphological 

 intergradation between the extremes. Almost every conceivable mor- 

 phologically intermediate note is uttered at least occasionally, and 

 some intermediates are very common indeed. The latter may be 

 considered "nodal points" in the continuum connecting the extremes. 



It will be convenient to give special names to some of the inter- 

 mediates. Among these are Hoarse Notes, "Greeting" Notes, 

 "Tzzheet" Notes, Hoarse Flourishes, and Thin Rattles. 



The Hoarse Notes of yellow-rumped tanagers are harsh rasping 

 sounds of more or less moderate length uttered singly or in short 

 series of two or three notes one right after the other. Most notes 

 of this type could be transcribed by something like "Zraa" or "Zraanh" 

 or "Sraah." When uttered in series the successive notes usually are 

 very similar to one another. They all sound very much like some of 

 the Hoarse Notes of such related species as the crimson-backed 

 tanager and the green-backed sparrow. In the latter species Hoarse 

 Notes are easily recognized as qualitatively distinct from all other 

 vocal patterns. This is not true of the Hoarse Notes of yellow-rumped 

 tanagers. They usually or always have a slight trace of a rattling 

 quality or "undertone." As a result they sound more or less perfectly 

 intermediate between typical Nasal Notes and pure Rattles. They 

 certainly intergrade with both. 



The Hoarse Notes of yellow-rumped tanagers are not only less 

 distinct than those of crimson-backed tanagers and green-backed 

 sparrows but also much less common. This seems to be due to the 

 fact that yellow-rumped tanagers utter pure Rattles and Thin Rattles 

 in many of the social situations in which the latter species utters one 

 or more types of Hoarse Notes. Yellow-rumped tanagers seem to 

 utter Hoarse Notes with appreciable frequency in only two situa- 

 tions. An individual caught by a predator (e.g. a human being) 

 utters loud and long Hoarse Notes (often relatively high pitched and 

 urgent sounding). These notes seem to be essentially similar to the 

 patterns of crimson-backed tanagers which have been called "Hoarse 

 Screams." Like the latter they seem to be purely hostile and high 

 intensity, produced by strong activation of both attack and escape 



