THE TREE SWALLOW 

 Sivallow Family — Hirundinidce 



Length: About 6 inches. 



General Appearance: Bluish-green above; pure white under- 

 neath, from beak to tail; tail not deeply forked; 

 wings very long. 



Male and Female: Back, a dark, glistening green, giving this 

 swallow the name of "The Green-backed Swallow"; 

 the snowy white under parts give it the names of 

 "White-breasted Swallow" and "White-bellied Swal- 

 low." The green and white are about equally dis- 

 tributed; the green on the head resembles a close- 

 fitting skull-cap, pulled down below the eyes. 

 Wings, very long and powerful (nearly 4% 

 inches), extending beyond the ends of the forked 

 tail. Bill short, very wide at base. Feet small and 

 weak — used only when resting, as swallows are gen- 

 erally on the wing. 



Young: Brownish-gray, white beneath. 



Note: A pleasant twitter. 



Flight: Swift, in great circles. 



Habitat: Tree swallows are seen along roadsides, and near 

 swamps and thickets. They formerly nested in dead 

 trees, in woodpeckers' holes, or any available hollow. 

 They now take kindly to nesting-boxes. They have 

 "roosts" at night where they resort in great numbers, 

 especially on their way south in the late summer. 

 They have a great fondness for telegraph-wires. 

 During the fall migration, long chains of these swal- 

 lows are festooned on the wires during the daytime. 

 At night they disappear to their roosts, preferably 

 near marshes. They are a sight to be remembered 

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