SWALLOWS. 321 



parts mixed with dusky, forehead and throat paler ; outer tail-feathers shorter. 

 L., 6-95 : W., 4-67 ; T., 3-30 ; B. from N., -24. 



Range. — North America, north to Greenland and Alaska; breeds through- 

 out the greater part of its range ; winters as far south as southern Brazil. 



Washington, common S. R., more abundant T. V,, Mch. 28 to Sept. Sing 

 Sing, common S. R., Apl. 15 to Sept. 22. Cambridge, connnon S. R., but fast 

 decreasing, Apl. 20 to Sept. 10. 



Nest.^ of mud and grasses, lined with grasses and feathers, generally on the 

 rafter of a barn or other building. Eggs., four to six, white, with numerous 

 spots of cinnamon-, olive-, or rufous-brown, generally smaller than those on 

 the eggs of P. lunifrons., -77 x -54:. 



Barn Swallows nest both in pairs and colonies, and during the 

 breeding season are more generally distributed than any of our Swal- 

 lows. Almost every old-fashioned barn with its great doors hospita- 

 bly opened is cheered by their sweet call-notes and happy twittering 

 song as they dart in and out on their errands of love. 



Barn Swallows take first rank among a family of birds famous for 

 their power of flight. While their relatives are circling about feeding 

 on insects in the air above, they capture their prey nearer the ground, 

 skimming low over the fields, turning quickly to right or left, up or 

 down, and pursuing their erratic course with marvelous ease and grace. 



614. Tachycineta bicolor {Vieill.). Tree Swallow; White- 

 bellied Swallow. Ad. — Upper parts steel-blue or steel-green ; under parts 

 pure white ; outer tail-feathers somewhat longer than the middle ones. Im. 

 —Upper parts brownish gray; under parts pure white. L., 5-90; W., 4-70; 

 T., 2-35; B. from N., -22. 



Range.— '^ovth America, north to Labrador and Alaska; breeds locally 

 throughout its range; winters from South Carolina southward. 



Washington, common T. V., Apl. 1 to May 25 ; July 10 to Sept. Sing 

 Sing, common T. V., Apl. 4 to May 26 ; Aug. 4 to Oct. 16. Cambridge, S. R., 

 formerly common, now common only as a migrant, Apl. 5 to Oct. 12. 



Nest, of coarse grasses and feathers, in a hollow tree or bird-box. Eggs, 

 four to seven, white, "74 x -55. 



While our eastern Barn and Eave Sw^allows have abandoned their 

 primitive methods of nesting in caves or beneath cliffs, and the Bank 

 Swallows still adhere to the customs of their ancestors, Tree Swallows 

 are passing through a transition period in their history. Some accept 

 the houses or boxes erected by man as substitutes for the holes in trees 

 or stumps which others still use. 



Near New York city they are the first birds to flock after the nest- 

 ing season, and they begin to gather in our marshes as early as July 

 L Their numbers rapidly increase, and the maximum of abundance 

 is reached about August 15, when they outnumber all other Swallows 

 together by at least three to one. They return to their roosts in the 

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