Blue and Bluish 



grace in flying, and with a squeak rather than the really musi- 

 cal twitter of the gayer bird, the clifT swallow may be posi- 

 tively identified by the rufous feathers of its tail coverts, but more 

 definitely by its crescent-shaped frontlet shining like a new moon; 

 hence its specific Latin name from /«Ha=moon, and/ro«s=front. 



Such great numbers of these swallows have been seen in the 

 far West that the name of Rocky Mountain swallows is some- 

 times given to them ; though however rare they may have been 

 in 1824, when DeWitt Clinton thought he "discovered" them 

 near Lake Champlain, they are now common enough in all parts 

 of the United States. 



In the West this swallow is wholly a cliff-dweller, but it has 

 learned to modify its home in ditTerent localities. As usually 

 seen, it is gourd-shaped, opened at the top, built entirely of mud 

 pellets ("bricks without straw"), softly lined with feathers and 

 wisps of grass, and attached by the larger part to a projecting 

 cliff or eave. 



Like all the swallows, this bird lives in colonies, and the clay- 

 coiored nests beneath the eaves of barns are often so close to- 

 gether that a group of them resembles nothing so much as a 

 gigantic wasp's nest. It is said that when swallows pair they 

 are mated for life ; but, then, more is said about swallows than 

 the most tireless bird-lover could substantiate. The tradition 

 that swallows fly low when it is going to rain may be easily 

 credited, because the air before a storm is usually too heavy with 

 moisture for the winged insects, upon which the swallows feed, 

 to fly high. 



Mourning Dove 



(Zenaidtira macroura) Pigeon family 



Called also : CAKOLmk DOVE; TURTLE DOVE 



Length — 12 to \} inches. About one-half as large again as the 

 robin. 



Male — Grayish brown or fawn-color above, varying to bluish 

 gray. Crown and upper part of head greenish blue, with 

 green and golden metallic reflections on sides of neck. A 

 black spot under each ear. Forehead and breast reddish 

 buff; lighter underneath. (General impression of color, bluish 

 fawn.) Bill black, with tumid, fleshy covering; feet red; 

 two middle tail feathers longest; all others banded with black 



108 



