Table 2. Classification of nocturnal flight calls (NFCs) of migrating warblers (Parulidae) and sparrows (Emberizidae) recorded in southern Rhode Island, USA, during autumn in 2010 and 2011.

Classificationa		Number of NFCs
Group	Complex	2010	2011	Dominant constituent speciesb
Warbers	ZEEP	2,424	14,712	Blackpoll Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat*, Magnolia Warbler; minor: Bay-breasted Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler*, Black-and-white Warbler, Cape May Warbler; rare: Hooded Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler
	1BUP	2,776	2,415	Yellow-rumped Warbler*; minor: Ovenbird, American Redstart, Black-throated Blue Warbler; rare: Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler
	1BDN	295	1,337	Northern Parula, Palm Warbler*; minor: Cape May Warbler, Pine Warbler*; rare: Prairie Warbler*
	NOPA	218	576	Northern Parula*
	AMRE	282	394	American Redstart
	COYE	119	421	Common Yellowthroat*
	2BUP	112	383	Yellow-rumped Warbler*, Nashville Warbler, Tennessee Warbler; minor: Black-throated Green Warbler, Mourning Warbler; rare: Orange-crowned Warbler
	BAWW	92	198	Black-and-white Warbler
	OVEN	95	137	Ovenbird
	PAWA	96	134	Palm Warbler*
	BTBW	17	47	Black-throated Blue Warbler
	CSWA	20	41	Chestnut-sided Warbler*
	NOWA	13	38	Northern Waterthrush
	MOWA	17	18	Mourning Warbler
	CAWA	9	6	Canada Warbler
	WIWA	0	10	Wilson's Warbler
Sparrows	SPAR	2,396	5,501	Chipping Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow; minor: Swamp Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow; rare: Field Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow
	SAVS	716	3,111	Savannah Sparrow
	WTSP	360	1,170	White-throated Sparrow
	CHSP	351	760	Chipping Sparrow
	LISW	34	220	Swamp Sparrow; also Lincoln's Sparrow
	DEJU	94	128	Dark-eyed Junco
	FISP	3	18	Field Sparrow
	GRSP	1	13	Grasshopper Sparrow

^aClassification complexes comprised of species with similar call notes, based on and modified slightly from (Evans and O'Brien 2002): ZEEP – “zeep” complex plus warbler members of the “buzz calls” complex and Cape May Warbler; 1BUP – warbler species producing single-banded calls in the “short rising seep” complex; 1BDN – warblers producing single-banded calls in the “descending seep” complex, plus Cape May Warbler; 2BUP – warbler species producing double-banded calls in the “short rising seep” complex; SPAR – sparrow members of the “descending seep,” “short rising seep,” and “buzz calls” complexes, plus long single- or double-banded sparrow calls (Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, and Grasshopper Sparrow); LISW – sparrow members of the “buzz calls” complex.

^bScientific names: Warblers – American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla), Bay-breasted Warbler (S. castanea), Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia), Blackburnian Warbler (S. fusca), Blackpoll Warbler (S. striata), Black-throated Blue Warbler (S. caerulescens), Black-throated Green Warbler (S. virens), Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera), Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis), Cape May Warbler (S. tigrina), Chestnut-sided Warbler (S. pensylvanica), Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas), Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis), Golden-winged Warbler (V. chrysoptera), Hooded Warbler (S. citrina), Magnolia Warbler (S. magnolia), Mourning Warbler (G. philadelphia), Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla), Northern Parula (S. americana), Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis), Orange-crowned Warbler (O. celata), Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), Palm Warbler (S. palmarum), Pine Warbler (S. pinus), Prairie Warbler (S. discolor), Tennessee Warbler (O. peregrina), Wilson's Warbler (C. pusilla), Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum), Yellow Warbler (S. petechia), Yellow-rumped Warbler (S. coronata); Sparrows – Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina), Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii), Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), Swamp Sparrow (M. georgiana), Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus), White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys), and White-throated Sparrow (Z. albicollis).

Dominant constituent species are grouped according to their expected contribution based on general impression of authors (i.e., some calls left unidentified to species were suggestive of a given species), knowledge of occurrence and migratory phenology in the region, and 5,526 banding records of relevant species from approximately 8 September to 10 November from five fall migration banding operations in southern Rhode Island in 2010–2011 (A. D. Smith unpubl. data; USFWS unpubl. data; K. Gaffett and S. Reinert unpubl. data; P. W. C. Paton unpubl. data). Species listed first are presumed to be the most common contributors; species following ‘minor' are presumed to make minor contributions; species following ‘rare’ are presumed rare contributors. Species marked with an asterisk possess flight calls that occur to some extent below 6 kHz (see text for details).