334 11 IE ROUGH-WINGED SW^I.OW. 



No. liK. 



K()l (.11 W IN(,HD S\\ Allow . 



A. O. I'. Xo. 617. Stcl){id<>pti.T> \ scrripcnnis (And. I. 



Description. — .Idiill: Warm l>ri>\viii.sh j;ray ur MUiflF-ljrKwn, including throat 

 and liri-a>-t ; tluncc passing insensibly hdow to wliitf of under tail-coverts; wings 

 fuscous. )'ouiiij birds exhibit some rusty edging of tlie feathers above, especially 

 on the wings, and lack the peculiar, recurved hooks on the edge of the outer 

 primary. Size a little larger than the ne.\t. Length 5.00-5.75 ( 127-14^.1 I : wing 

 4.30 (io<;.2»: tail 1.S5 (471; bill from nostril .21 (5.3). 



Recojjnition Marks. — Medium Swallow size; throat not white: warmish 

 brown coloration, and brownish suffusion below fading to white on belly. It is 

 easy to distinguish between this and the succeeding species if a little care is taken 

 to note the general j)attern of underparts. 



Nesting. — Xcst. in crevices of cliffs, at end of tunnels in sand banks, or in 

 crannies of bridges, etc. ; made of leaves, grasses, feathers, and the like. — bulky 

 or compact according to situation. /:,(/</.«. 4-8, white. .\v. size, .74 x .51 ( 18.8 x 

 131. ScusKii : May 20-Jime 5. June 20-Jidy to; two broods. 



General Range. — I'nited States at large, north to Connecticut, southern On- 

 tario, southorn .Minnesota. I'.ritish Columbia, etc., south thru Mexico to Costa 

 Rica. Tirccds tliruout I'niteil States range and south in Mexico. 



Range in Washington. — Summer resident, of general distribution, save in 

 mountains, tliruout the State. More common east of the mountains, where it 

 has taken a great fancy to banks of irrigating ditches, esi)ecially where abrui)t. 



Migrations.— .S>r/m/; First week in Ajiril : Tacoma, .April 3. \<)r>S. Ai)ril <'\ 

 MKy) and ii)o8. /'(i//.- c. Sept. 1. 



Authorities. — Colvie scrrif>cunis. Uonap. Baird, Rej). I'ac. R. R. Surv. I\. 

 pt. 11. iX;.s. 314. C&S. LM ?). L'. Rh. Ra. J. H. I".. 



Specimens. — ( l'. i>f W. ) I'rov. 1'. I'.. E. 



IT not iiifre<|iiently happens that some oversight, or want of discriniiiia- 

 tinn, on the part of early observers condemns a sjjecies to long obscurity or 

 iniending misapprehension. The Bank Swallow was at once recognized by the 

 pioneer naturalists of America as being identical with the well-known 

 luiropcan bird, hut it was not till 1838 that .\iidiilion distinguished its super- 

 ficially similar but structurally dilTerent relative, the Rough-wing. The cl<iak 

 of obscurity still clings to the latter, altlio we begin to suspect that it may 

 from the first have enjoyed its i)resent wide distribution East as well as West. 

 Hence, in describing it, we take the more familiar Bank Swallow as a ix>int 

 of departure, and say that it differs thus and so and so. 



In the first i)lace it has those curious little luM.klets on the edge of the 

 wing (especiallv on the miter edge of the first j.rimary I — nolxxly knows what 

 thev are for. Tliev surelv cannot be of service in enabling the bird to cling to 



