Based on the previous clues, the target word must include R and E (from the yellow feedback) while excluding C, A, N, O, T, and S. In CRANE, R (position 1) and E (position 4) were yellow, so they must be in different positions. In ROTES, R (position 0) and E (position 3) were yellow, further constraining their placement. The guess PERKY uses R in position 2 and E in position 1, which fit the constraints, while also testing new letters (P, K, Y) to gather more information.