356 S Y STEM A TIC S Y NOP SIS. — PA SSERES — OSCINES. 



with broad pectoral band of color of back. A dusky ante-orbital spot. Length about 5.00 ; 

 extent 10.50; wing 4.00; tail 2.00. Sexes similar. Young differ chietiy in whitish edgings 

 of the feathers, especially of wings and tail. Even in the adult, the upper parts are apt to be 

 not quite uniform, there being paler gray edgings of most feathers. The dark pectoral band 

 sometimes extends backward along middle of under parts (not shown in fig. 212). Autumnal 

 specimens have the secondaries white-tipped. Very young birds have rather rusty than whit- 

 ish skirting of the dark feathers, and white throat speckled with the same. Almost cosmo- 

 politan : Europe, Asia, Africa, America; abundant in N. Am., breeding in immense troops in 

 holes in the ground, wherever suitable sites offer, as natural embankments, railn^id cuttings, 

 gravel-pits, etc. ; N. to the limit of trees, S. into S. Am. 



STELGIDOP'TERYX. (Gr. arfXyis, stelgis, a scraper; 7rT€pv$, pterux, wing.) RouGH- 

 wiNGED Swallows. General aspect of Clivicola ; form and coloration much the same. 

 Outer web of 1st primary converted into a series of stiff, recurved hooks. (Other Swallows, as 

 Psalidoprocne Cab., have this peculiar wing structure, but are otherwise different.) The de- 

 sign of the structure is not clear, but we may readily suppose that the hooks assist the birds 

 in crawling into their holes, and in clinging to vertical or hanging surfaces. Tarsus slightly 

 feathered above, but lacking the curious tuft seen at base of hind toe in Clivicola. Lateral 

 claws curved, and not reaching beyond base of middle. Basal joint of middle toe extensively 

 adherent to the outer, much less so to the inner. Bill small, with oval, superior nostrils mar- 

 gined by membrane behind, but not overhung. Tail short and slightly emargiuate. Eggs 

 uncolored, in holes dug by the birds, or elsewhere. Sexes alike. 



S. serripen'nis. (Lat. serra, a saw; penna, a feather.) Rough- winged Swallow. Adult 

 (J 9 : Lustreless mouse-brown or brownish-gray, paler below, gradually whitening posteriorly. 

 Wings and tail darker than upper parts. Rather larger than the last species. No dark pec- 

 toral baud contrasting with white. No tuft of feathers at base of hind toe. Young : At a very 

 early age, the feathers of the back, rump, and wings are suffused or edged with rich rusty- 

 brown, while the under parts are more or less tinged with a paler shade of the same. The 

 booklets of the wings are only fully developed in adult birds, and aie not appreciable in young 

 ones. U. S. and adjoining British Provinces; rare in New England States; breeds through- 

 out its N. Am. lange, and in Mexico ; extends in winter to Cent. Am. 



PROG'NE. (Gr. Hponvrj, Procne, a mythological character.) Of large size and robust Ljviu 

 for this family. Bill long and stout, with much-curved commissure and deflected tip ; culmen 

 convex, its tomial edge concavo-convex like '^. Nostrils circular, opening upward, without 

 nasal scale. Feet large, with strong, much-curved claws ; tarsus shorter than middle toe and 

 claw ; lateral toes about equalling each other in length ; basal joint of middle toe freer from 

 lateral toes than usual. Tail forked. Sexes dissimilar. Eggs colorless. 

 P. su'bis. (Lat. subtil, name of an unknown bird. Fig. 213.) Purple Martin. Adult 

 (J : Intense lustrous steel-blue. Wings and tail blackish, with bluish lustre. Bill black ; 

 feet blackish. Length 7.50-8..50; extent 15.50; wing 5.50-6.00; tail 3.00-3.50, forked; 

 bill 0.50, very stout, broad at base, somewhat decurved at end; nostrils circular, exposed, 

 opening upward. 9 : Dark grayish-brown, glossed on back and head with steel-blue. 

 Wings and tail fuscous, paler on inner webs, with narrow gray edgings. Beneath, whitish, 

 shaded with dark gray in most parts, the feathers very generally with dusky shaft-line. Young 

 birds of both sexes resemble adult 9 , though the young males are rather darker. The steel- 

 blue appears at first in patches. Eggs 3-5, 0.95 to 1.00 X 0.70 to 0.75. U. S. and British 

 Provinces, abundant and generally distributed ; breeds throughout its range, usually in the East 

 in boxes provided for its accommodation, in the West in holes in trees ; winters extralimital. in 

 S. Am. 



P. s. hespe'ria. (Gr. (anepia. licaperia, feminine form of fampioi, hcspcrios, western ; eanepa, 

 hespera, the evening, lunice western, equivalent to Lat. rexpcra, vosjier; "Eanepos, Hef<peros, 



