BAHAMA SWALLOW- 533 



a balloon-sbapeil pancreas, wiiicli does not extetirl alou;^ the intestines. Intestines, -1.70 long; eoeca very 

 small. 



Color. Adult male. Above, velvety i^reen. showinu; golden reflections in some lights. Wings, with 

 the coverts, steely lilue. edned on out«r webs with greenish, secondaries and primaries becoming brown on 

 inner webs. Ruinp, up])er tail covets and tail, steely blue, with greenish reflections. The outer webs of the 

 tail feathers are narrowly margined with whitish, e.xcepting terminally, and the central portions of the inner 

 webs are more widely marked with white. The tip and inner edges of the secondaries are narrowly margined 

 with grayish white. Sjiot in front of eye, black. Beneath and sides of head in a line from gape below, black, 

 spot, including anterior and middle portion of lower eyelid and lower half of ear coverts, under wing and tail 

 coverts, ymre white. Iris, brown. Bill, black. Feet, dark brown. 



Adult female, similar above, but duller. The outer webs of the secondaries show whitish margins near the 

 tips. Beneath the white is much less pure, being inclined to slaty beneath the eye, on the ear coverts, across 

 breast and on sides of breast. Young male. Quite similar to the adult female, thei-e being an indication of a 

 band across the breast and the colors above are dull. Young female, nearly uniform dull ashy greenish 

 above ; only slightly lighter on the rump and u|)per tail coverts ami the under wing coverts are tinged with 

 ashy, while the ashy collar on the neck is more clearly indicated. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Wing, -i.OO; t;ul, J.OO; fork, l.OO ; bill, .I'.j ; tarsus, .40. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Of the fourteen specimens examined those of the same age and sex vary but little. In tin; tyjie 

 clescribed the line of demarkation between the greenish of the back and the bluish of the rump is well 

 defined, but in others there is an intergrade, and in the.se specimens the blue comes higher up on the back, 

 but judging from the purity of the white beneath this is mere individual variation, not an indication of 

 greater maturity. As given, the indication of the collar and soiling of the lower parts is a mark of immaturity, 

 thus doubtless the nestlings will first be plain gray above with a well defined collar of ashy. In the 

 elliptical form of the stomach, its thin walls, and length of intestines this species agrees more closely with 

 T. bicolor than with any other species which I have examined. T'he sternum, howe^-er, in every particular, 

 resembles IL riparia. In the small, cyhndrical, straight spleen and peculiar lateral membrane of the 

 tympaniform this species differs from any of our Swallows which have come under my observations, viz., H. 

 horreorum, S. serripeunis, II.. riparia and T. bicolor, all of which have the spleen thickened on the anterior 

 portion or bent upon itself I should judge, however, that this might be a variable character, changing 

 possibly with the season, as I have often found the spleen greatly enlarged during the breeding season, and 

 for some time after it in many species of birds. 



The resemblance in color and texture of the featliers to those of the Violet Green Swallow is noticeable 

 but it may at once be distinguished from this and other species by the uniformity of the green from forehead 

 to rump. This species was described in Proceedings Boston Society Natural History, Vol. VII, Sejitember, 

 l«3:),page 111. 



HABITS. 



The followin^g extract from mj note-book between the dates of January 23 and 28 

 ■will give my lii^t hnpressions of this Swallow. 



"I have seen this species Hying along Kemp'.s Road, Wulf's Road and the Village 

 Road every day between the dates mentioned above. They appear common. Hocks con- 

 sisting of from ten to jKirhaps thirty individuals appearing, and I have already- secured 

 quite a number. They tly high or low according to inclination, the peculiar state of the 

 weather, or perhaps according to the flight of inse(;ts. The course which tliey were 

 pursuing has gencrall}' been from west to east and they usually move steadily onward but 

 they occasionally remain in one locality for some time. 



