552 MICHIGAN lURD LIKE. 



white, unspotted, and average .70 by .49 inches. Occasional!}' the bird 

 selects a bank of gravel or clay, and one or two instances have been recorded 

 in which it has nested in banks of sawdust.* On June 6, 1902 the writer 

 saw from the train large numbers of Bank Swallows about sawdust piles at 

 Otsego Lake, Otsego county, Mich., and as there were numerous holes in 

 the vertical sides of these sawdust heaps it seems probable that they were 

 nesting there, but it was impracticable to stop and investigate. Mr. E. S. 

 Rolfe found them nesting abundantly in North Dakota in the walls of an 

 abandoned dry well about fifteen feet deep. He. states that the per- 

 pendicular clay walls were honeycombed with the nesting holes (Nidiologist, 

 III, 96). 



The food does not differ appreciably from that of the preceding species 

 with which it often associates. 



The Bank Swallow is of particular interest from the fact that it is common 

 to both the Old and the New World, our common bird being identical 

 with the Sand Martin of Great Britain, Scandinavia and northern Asia, 

 and in the latter places it nests almost or quite to the Arctic circle. 



Dr. Gibbs and one or two other observers state that in their experience 

 the Bank Swallow's nesting burrows are not cylindrical, the openings being 

 more or less flattened ovals instead of true circles, while in the Rough- 

 winged Swallow the holes are said to be invariably circular. We have 

 not been able to verify this statement, in fact we have seen burrows of both 

 species which were perfectly cylindrical, although we have also seen many 

 of the Bank Swallows' which have oval entrances. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Tail emarginate or slightly forked, the outer feather about one-fourth inch longer tlian 

 the mitklle pair. 



Adult (sexes alike) : Upper parts nearly uniform brownish-gray, a little darker on top 

 of head; a brownish gray band across the chest, and extending along the sides somewhat; 

 rest of imder parts pure white; wings and tail blackish, without white markings, the 

 tertiaries brownish-gray like the huck; l>ill and feet dusky; iris l)rown. Young: Similar, 

 but the wing and tail coverts and most of the secondniics ;iiid tertiaries with buffy or 

 whitish edgings. 



Length 4.75 to 5.50; wing 3.70 to 4.25; tail 2.10 to 2.25. 



250. Rough-winged Swallow. Stelgidopteryx serripennis (Aud.). (617) 



Synonyms: Bridge Swallow. — Ilinnido serripennis, Audubon, 1838. — Cotyle serri- 

 pennis, Cassin, Sclater, and others. — Stelgidopteryx serripennis of most authors. 



With the adult bird in hand one need only stroke the outer edge of the 

 wing to feel the rough barbs of the first primary, which gives the bird its 

 name. In size and color it closely resembles the Bank Swallow, but is 

 uniform brownish-gray on throat and breast, only becoming white on the 

 belly and under tail-coverts. There is thus no brownish chest band. 



Distribution. — United States at large, north to Connecticut, southern 

 Ontario, southern Montana and British Columbia, and south through 

 Mexico and Costa Rica. Breeds throughout its United States range and 

 south into Mexico. 



In Michigan the Rough-winged Swallow appears to be less common 

 than any other species. That it is really more abundant than it seems is 

 highly probable, yet the fact remains that it has been noted at very few 



^* Franconia, N. H., Auk, XX, p. 4.36. 



