WESTERN BIRDS Swallow 



GENUS PETROCHELIDON: CLIFF 

 SWALLOW. 



GlifF Swallow: Petrochelidon lunifrons lunifrons. 

 FAMILY— SWALLOWS. 



One of the most common members of this family is 

 the Cliff Swallow, which is found during the summer 

 months nearly all over the United States, except Florida 

 and the Rio Grande Valley. 



It is about six inches long, with wings four and one- 

 half inches in length. The crown of head, back, and 

 patch on chest are a glossy blue-black ; the forehead may 

 be white, buffy, or brown; the throat, collar, and rump 

 are chestnut; sides brown and rest of under parts chest- 

 nut. The tail is notched, but not deeply forked like 

 that of the Barn Swallow. The chestnut rump is helpful 

 in identification. 



The birds build wonderful pouch-shaped mud nests 

 which before the coming of man they plastered on walls, 

 or cliffs. Now, although they still build on cliffs, they 

 are also fond of the eaves of barns, outbuildings, and 

 houses. They are gregarious birds, building in large 

 colonies which, from the bird student's viewpoint, are 

 most unsatisfactory to study, since they all look alike 

 and are forever whisking in and out of the nesting colony, 

 until one becomes almost dizzy trying to watch one bird 

 and know to a certainty that it goes only to one particu- 

 lar mud pouch. Low twittering notes are kept up by 

 these Swallows as they fly back and forth. 



It is a pretty sight to see them building their nests. 

 When a suitable place has been selected — and if un- 

 molested they yearly return to the same place — a drip- 

 ping hydrant, or other muddy place, is located, and a 

 constant stream of twittering birds passes between the 



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