HIRUNDINID.E — THE SWALLOWS — IIIRUNDO. 107 



They are tlie hardiest of all our swallows, extending their range north- 

 ward at least to lat. 53°, east of the Eocky Mountains, and preferring the 

 neighborhood of the coast and mountain-tops iu this State. On the summit 

 of the Coast Eange I found them taldng the place of the ham and cliff 

 swallows, and have seen what I supposed this species flying above the 

 summits of the Sierra Nevada as late as September 25th, at an elevation of 

 probably nine thousand feet above the sea, migrating towards the south. 



In this State they generally build in tlie knot-holes of oaks and other 

 trees, but in older settled regions they have been known to prefer the ad- 

 vantages of an old building, or the little dwelling put up for the martins 

 and bluebirds. The nest is made entirely of fine grass, lined with feathers, 

 and the eggs, four or five in numlier, are pure white. They commonly raise 

 two broods in a season. 



Tliey are not very gregarious, few living in the same neighborhood in the 

 breeding season. Audubon found them wintering in Louisiana, roosting in 

 the branches of the wax-myi'tle, and feeding on its berries, as a variety to 

 their usual fare of insects. They then associated in large flocks. This in- 

 dicates more affinity to other insectivorous birds than we find in most 

 swallows. 



Five or six pairs of tliis species wintered at Santa Cruz, and others 

 about sheltered ponds in the vicinity, where I saw them in January, 186G, 

 during the coldest weather of tlie season. Those at the town roosted in the 

 same knot-holes in the liouses where they had raised their young, so that 

 tliey were probably constant residents there, and not visitors from the north. 

 Like all the swallows, however, they seemed to depart about September 1st, 

 probably on account of the scarcity of insects during the latter part of the 

 dry season. In September, 1865, I saw a few, probably of this species, near 

 Tulare Lake, where thev doubtless found food more abundant. 



Hirundo thalassina, Swaixson. 

 THE VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW. 



Hirundo thalassina, Swainson, Taylor's Philos. Mag. I. 1827, 365. — Audubon, Orn. Biog;. 

 IV. 1838, 597; pi. 385. Ib. Bird.s Aiiicr. I. 1840, ISO; pi. 49. — Bkewer, N. Am. 

 Oology, I. 1857, 102 ; pi. v. f. 74 (Egg). — Baikd, P. R. Rep. IX. Birds, 311. — Heek- 

 MANX, X. vi. 30. — Cooper ami Sucklev, XII. iii. 185. 



Sp. Ch.\r. Tail acutely emarjiinate. Beneath, pure white. Al.ioie, soft velvety 

 green, with a -sery faint shack- of purplish-violet concentrated on the nape into a trans- 

 verse band. Rump rather more vivid green ; tail coverts showing a good deal of purple. 

 Colors of female much more obscure. Length, 5.00 ; e.xtent, 12.00 ; wing, 4.75 ; tail, 2.00. 

 Ii'is brown ; bill black ; feet brownish. 



Hab. Rocky Mountains to the Pacific ; south to Mexico. 



