HIRUNDINID^ — THE SWALLOWS. 



329 



Sides of the jugulum without a bkie-black patch in the $. Wing, 5.20 ; 

 fork of tail, .55 deep. Hah. Middle America, from Southern Mexico to 

 New Granada ........ var. leucogasier .^ 



Progne subis, Baird. 



PURPLE MARTIN. 



Ilirundo subis, Linn. S. N. 10th ed. 1758, 192 {Himndo ccerulea canadensis, Edward.s, 

 Av. tab. 120, Hudson's Bay). Progne subis, Baird, Rev. Am. Birds, 1864, 274. H. 

 ^nirpurea, Linn. S. N. 12th ed. 1766, 344 (H. purimrea, Catesby, Car. tab. fil). — 

 AuD. Orn. Biog. I, i)l. xxiii. — In. Birds Am. I, pi. xlv. — Yarrell, Br. Birds, II, 

 232, 274 (England and Ireland, Sept. 1842). —Jones, Nat. Bermuda, 34 (Sept. 22, 

 1849). Progne imrpurea, BoiE, Isis, 1826, 971. — Brewer, N. Am. Ool. I, 1857, 103, 

 pi. iv, fig. 47 (eggs). — Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 314. — Cooper & Suckley, P. R. R. 

 Rep. XII, 2, 186 (Fort Steilacoom). — Blakiston, Ibis, 1863, 65 (Saskatchewan) — 

 Cooper, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 113. — Samuels, 260. Hirundo violacea, Gm. //. ccerulea, 

 ViEiLL. //. versicolor, ViEiLL. H. ludoviciana, Cuv. 



Sp. Char. (No. 1,561 ^.) Entirely lustrous steel-blue, with a purplish gloss; the tail- 

 feathers and the wings, except the lesser and middle coverts, and edge inside, dull black, 



Progne subis. 



scarcely glossed. Tibije dark brownish. A concealed patch of white on the sides under 

 the wings. Concealed central portion of anal feathers light whitish-gray. 



(No. 1,129 9 •) Above somewhat similar, but much duller. Beneath smok}' brown- 

 ish-gray, Avithout lustre, paler behind, and becoming sometimes quite Avliitish on belly and 



^Progne, {subis var?) leucogaster. Progne Icucogastcr, Baird, Rev. Am. B. 1865, 280. 

 (Southern Mexico to Carthagena.) Progne dominicensis and P. cliaJybea, AucH. (nee Gmel.). 



From a careful examination of specimens of the above forms, the opinion that they are all local 

 differentiations of one primitive type at once presents itself The differences from the typical 

 subis are not great, except in the white-bellied group (dominicensis and its allies), while an 

 approach to the white belly of these is plainly to be seen in P. eriipfoleuca ; again, .some sjieci- 

 mens of dominicensis have the crissum mixed with blackish, while others have it wholly snowy- 

 white. While the male of cryptoleuca is scarcely distinguishable, at first sight, from that ol' 

 subis, the female is entirely different, but, on the other hand, scarcely to be distinguished from 

 that of dominicensis and leucogaster. Adult males of the latter species are much like adult 

 females of dominicensis, while Floridan (resident) specimens of subis approach very decidedly to 

 the rather unique characters of elegans. It is therefore extremely i)robable that all are merely 

 local modifications of one species. 

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