86 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



BARN SWALLOW 

 Hirundo erythrogastra Boddacrt 



A. II. V. Xumber 61 j See Color Plate 88 



Other Names. — American Bam Swallow ; Karii-loft 

 Swallcjw : Fork-tailed Swallow. 



General Description. — Length, 7 inches. Upper 

 parts, steel-blue ; under parts, chestnut and red. Bill, 

 small and depressed; tail, ^3 length of wing, or longer, 

 and forked for more than J/j of its length, the side 

 feathers becoming gradually narrower and more drawn 

 out to the outermost, which are sometimes almost 

 thread-like for the end portion, but always with blunt 

 tips. 



Color. — Adult Male: Forehead, chestnut; rest of 

 upper parts, glossy dark steel-blue ; wings and tail, 

 dusky faintly glossed with greenish, the middle wing- 

 coverts and inner wing quills broadly margined with 

 glossy steel-blue, the greater coverts glossed with the 

 same; the inner web of the tail-fcalhcrs (except the 

 middle pair), zvith a conspicuous ivhite spot; cheek 

 region, chin, throat, and chest, chestnut or deep cin- 

 namon-rufous, the chest margined laterally by an ex- 

 tension of the glossy steel-blue from sides of the neck, 

 these two lateral jiatches sometimes connected, nar- 



niwly. and thus forming a nearly complete collar; rest 

 of under parts, pale cinnamon-rufous; iris, brown. 

 Adult Fem.^le: Similar to the adult male and often 

 not distinguishable. Young : Much duller in color 

 than adults ; crown and hindneck, sooty-black, much 

 more faintly glossed with blue than back ; forehead, 

 dull light-brownish or brownish-bufif. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: A bowl-shaped hemisphere, 

 attached to barn or other buildings, timbers, or on sides 

 oi caves ; constructed of mud pellets mixed with straw 

 and grass, thickly lined with feathers. Eggs : 3 to 6, 

 white marked with spots of bright Indian red. brown, 

 and lavender. 



Distribution. — North America in general, north to 

 Alaska, northern Mackenzie, southern Manitoba, and 

 southern Ungava ; breeding southward over whole of 

 United States ( except Florida) ; in winter from southern 

 Florida and southern Mexico, through Central America 

 and South America as far as southern Brazil, Para- 

 guay, .'\rgentina, Bolivia, and Peru, and throughout 

 West Indies ; occasional in Bermudas. 



Like the Bluebird and the Robin, the Barn 

 Swallow is a bird whose apj^earance in and de- 

 parture from the northern reaches of its range 

 have definite seasonal significance, even to those 

 who have no particular interest in ornithology. 

 The poets have had much to say about the bird's 

 comings and goings. " When the .Swallows 



Homeward Flv," the English words of which are 

 translated from the German of Franz Abt's 

 song, " JVcnn die Sclizn'alhcn heimimrts sieh'n," 

 lias been known in this country for half a cen- 

 tury, and lias been sung by many thousands of 

 scliool children, not to mention yet other thou- 

 sands of grown-ups. The reference of course 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



BARN SWALLOW (J nat. size) 



