SWALLOW. 177 
what closely resembles the male in colour, but the chestnut on the forehead. 
and throat are not so rich, the chest-band is narrower, and the outermost 
tail-feathers are shorter. Young in first plumage have the forehead, throat, 
and eye-stripe pale chestnut, which fades durmg the winter into nearly 
white ; the upper parts are not so bright asin adults, the spots on the tail- 
feathers are tinged with rufous, and the outermost tail-feathers are much 
shorter. These long tail-feathers do not assume their full length until 
after the first moult in February, when the adult plumage is assumed. 
After the spring moult the underparts below the pectoral band are slightly 
suffused with rufous, which gradually fades into the adult summer plumage. 
The Swallow may be readily known from its congeners by its uniform steel- 
blue upper parts, its chestnut throat and forehead, and its acutely forked 
tail—characters which on the wing serve at a glance to distinguish it from 
the Martin or the Sand- Martin. 
VOL. Il. N 
