5-10 



EOUGll-WlNGED SWALLOW. 



the top was covered with soil ])ortions of which o\erhiui-- the w.-iter, aflbrdino- the 

 Swallowsa tine opportunity t) huild. The roclvv t'aee ol'the chU'was inhabited bv Conno- 

 rants; hundreds of Terns, that were breeding on the upper surf ice, hovered confusedly 

 a,l)out and filled tlie air with tlieir harsh, continuous cries, hut amid all this discord the 

 soft twitter of the Bank Swallows could he heard as they Hew (piietly about their strangely 

 chosen homes. 



Either this s|)ecies do not mate until they begin to construct their nests or el.^e they 

 are polygamous, tor it is (piite common to see two or three males in pursuit of a single 

 female, but I think the former hypothesis more probable, as both sexes incubate. The 

 Bank Swallows bring out their young eai'ly in July, and by the latter part of that month 

 they accompany their parents in their aerial tiight in search of insects ; later, in August. 

 they all disappear, being the first of all the Swallows to depart for the south. 



GENUS VL STELGIDOPTERYX. THE ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS. 

 Gen. Ch. General form and color much as in the Bank Swallows but with the stiffened ends of the 

 outer webs of the first primary converted into a series of recurved hooks. (See Fig. U7, S. H, ii, being the 

 hooks). Tarsus slightly feathered above only. 



STELGIDOPTERYX SERRIPENNIIS. 

 Rough-winged Swailow. 



llirundo serripennis Aud., Orn. Biog., iv, IS'lS, .VIL;. 

 DESCRIPTION. 



Sr. Cn. Form, quite robust. Size, not large. Bill, 

 mandible. Feet not as large as in the i)receding. Tail, 

 primaries provided with hooks, which curve forward. 

 Tongue, triangular in form and slightly bifid at tip. 



Color. Adult. Above, uniform, smok3'-bro-wn. 

 Chin, throat, under wing coverts, axillaries, sides and 

 flanks, pale, smoky brown. Remaining under parts, 

 including under tail coverts, white. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



This sjjecies is larger than C. ripavia ; it also 

 diifers from it in having no feathers on the heel, but is 

 provided with sharp hooks on the outer webs of the outer 

 primaries. These appendages are more prominent near 

 the middle of the feather, being scarcely perceptible at 

 the base, then grow larger, reaching the maximum in 

 the centre, gradually diminish toward the terminal por- 

 tion, until the extreme tip is perfectly devoid of them. 

 Bank Swallows occasionally have indications of this 

 singular character, especially young birds. This is 

 readily seen by comparing the outer primary web of 

 some which I now have before me, with that portion of 

 the wing of S. serripennis, where the hooks are nearly 

 obsolete. I have never seen a nestling of S. serripennis, 

 but the hooks are said to be less prominent on their 



medium, and slightly curved at tip of upjier 

 slightly forked. The outer webs of the outer 



c 



Fifi. I'i7. A, head, B, upper mandible of 

 Rough-winged Swallow. C, portion of outer 

 feather of wing (enlarged) : S, shaft of feather, 

 w, web, II, H, hooks. I), foot of Bank Swallow, 

 T, tuft I if feathers. 



