336 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Genus Stelgidopteryx Baird. 



275. (617). Stelgidopteryx serripcrmis (Aud.) Rough-winged 



Swallow. 



The Rough-winged Swallow is a tolerably common summer 

 resident in most parts of the state. It resembles the Bank Swal- 

 low in general appearance and habits, but lacks the whitish under 

 parts and dark pectoral collar. The booklets of the outer pri- 

 mary are only fully developed in adult birds. Keyes and Will- 

 iams state that "in central Iowa, especially in Polk and the con- 

 tiguous counties, this species is quite abundant, almost to the ex- 

 clusion of the Bank Swallow. The nests are usually built in the 

 alluvial banks of the streams or in the sides of gravel pits and in 

 road cuts" (Birds of Iowa, 1899, p. 148). From the fact that the 

 species is reported rare or absent in many places and common in 

 similar and adjacent localities, it is probable that the Rough- 

 winged Swallow is often confounded with the Bank Swallow. 

 The Rough-winged Swallow does not always nest in holes in 

 banks, but sometimes nests about bridges and abutments. In 

 Linn county Dr. B. H. Bailey states: "I have found four nests in 

 the last four years, three of which I think were by the same pair 

 of birds, under a bridge over a creek." 



In Johnson county I have frequently seen the birds in spring, 

 excavating burrows in the loess banks along roads, but never 

 more than two or three pairs together. 



Famiy AMPELID^. Waxwings. 



The two species of this family which are found in Iowa are 

 cinnamon -tinted birds with soft, silky plumage, conspicuous 

 crests, tail yellow-tipped, and tips of primaries, and sometimes 

 rectrices, usually with a small red "sealing-wax" appendage. 

 They are chiefly frugivorous, feeding on berries, but are also 

 largely insectivorous in summer. 



Subfamily AMPELIN^. 



Genus Ampelis Linnjeus. 



276. (618). Ampelis garnihis hinn. Bohemian Waxwing. 

 The Bohemian Waxwing is at times an abundant winter resi- 

 dent in Iowa, but is an erratic wanderer and its appearance and 



