THE BARN SWALLOW 



Swallow Family — Hirundinidce 



Length: About 7 inches; an inch longer than the tree swal- 

 low because of longer tail; body nearly the same 

 size. 



General Appearance: Upper parts a glossy bluish-black; 

 under parts reddish-brown and buff; tail deeply 

 forked. 



Male: Forehead and throat bright reddish-brown; breast, belly, 

 and feathers under wings a light brown, becoming 

 buffy; breast and throat separated by an indistinct 

 dark band; upper parts a shimmering bluish-black; 

 tail very deeply forked — the proverbial "swallow- 

 tail"; rounded white spots on the inner web of all 

 except the middle tail-feathers. 



Female: Resembles male, though paler in color; outer tail- 

 feathers a little shorter. 



Young: Backs duller, breasts paler, tail-feathers shorter than 

 those of adult male. 



Notes: A clear, sweet call, and a joyous, musical twitter — 

 weet-weet, or twit-twit. 



Flight: Long, sweeping curves that are beautiful to see. The 

 bird shows first his blue back, then his soft brown 

 breast. He flies nearer the ground than other swal- 

 lows, and surpasses them all in his power of flight. 

 Imagine the number of miles he travels in a day! 



Habitat: Fields and farm-lands; also the vicinity of ponds 

 or other breeding-places of insects. The nest of 

 mud is usually fastened to a rafter of a barn. These 

 swallows often nest in colonies. 



Range: North America, from northwestern Alaska and Can- 

 ada, to southern California and southwestern Texas, 

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