30 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I49 



formances of yellow-rumped tanagers. Both orange-ramped tanagers 

 usually sat without moving while they uttered "Tsit" or "Whit" Notes, 

 with or without Rattles. 



The "silent song" patterns were performed by only one of the 

 orange-rumped tanagers. I was told that this individual had assumed 

 adult plumage only a few months earlier. Its "silent songs" were 

 largely inaudible at a distance of three feet. Occasionally, one or 

 more soft but clear "Whit" or "Tsit" notes were interjected, ap- 

 parently at random, in otherwise silent "phrases." 



SOME PATTERNS OF BLACK-THROATED TANAGERS 



In addition to the single individual in the New York Zoo. a few 

 black-throated tanagers were observed in the wild near Iquitos, 

 Peru, in December 1958. The general social behavior of these 

 Peruvian birds is described in Moynihan, 1962a. They were keeping 

 together in what looked like a family group, including both adults and 

 young, and also were associating with a family group of silver-billed 

 tanagers. They performed a few displays, including Flicking move- 

 ments of the usual Ramphocelus type and silent Gaping from a 

 variety of unritualized postures. During one violent intra-specific 

 dispute, one bird performed Gaping while its opponent kept its 

 bill almost or completely closed, and one or both birds uttered rapid 

 "twittering" phrases of short notes which sounded like some type of 

 Hoarse Notes. During another intra-specific dispute, one or more 

 birds uttered similar "twittering" series of Hoarse Notes without any 

 sign of Gaping. Several times an adult was heard to utter series of 

 three to eight "Whi-it" or "Wheeeeet" Notes when it flew ahead of 

 its companions. These appeared to be a type of "summons," pre- 

 sumably related to the Plaintive Notes of many other species, the 

 "Tzzheet" Notes of yellow-rumped tanagers, and the "Tseeet" Notes 

 of crimson-backed tanagers. 



The individual at the New York Zoo was observed to perform 

 similar Flicking and silent Gaping and assume "head forward threat" 

 postures like orange-rumped tanagers. Once, when it was attacked 

 by a barbet in the same aviary, it responded by Gaping in an upright 

 posture and ruffling the black feathers of the upper back (see figure 

 6a). 



All the black-throated tanagers near Iquitos uttered many loud, 

 metallic sounding "Tsit" Notes. These were very similar to the "Tsit" 

 Notes uttered by silver-billed tanagers in the same region (although 

 perhaps slightly softer) and were uttered in similar social circum- 



