SWALLOWS: Family Hirundinidae [ 407 ] 



parts, which are among the most beautiful of our summer birds. They 

 are somewhat larger than the other swallows, comparatively slower of 

 wing, and a little more sedate in behavior. They are usually tame and 

 unsuspicious and will hunt for insects low over the water or weeds and 

 fly all about a human being as if entirely unconscious of his presence. They 

 arrive in March (earliest date, February 2.2., Tillamook County) and 

 remain until September (latest date, September 2.4, Benton County). 



The nests are almost invariably built in old woodpecker holes or other 

 cavities in dead stumps and snags. The eggs are laid in May (May 10-30), 

 and we have records of young being fed in the nest as late as June 2.8 but 

 have no definite June egg dates. There has been a small colony about an 

 alder stump near Gabrielson's place at Devils Lake, Lincoln County, for 

 many years that invariably have young on the wing by July 4, which 

 means the eggs must have been laid in early June. 



Suckley (Cooper and Suckley 1860), who found Tree Swallows common 

 at The Dalles, was the first to report them for the State. Mearns (1879) 

 listed them as abundant at Fort Klamath on April x8, 1875, an< ^ Merrill 

 (1888) considered them common at the same point. Since that time they 

 have been frequently recorded, particularly in lists from western Oregon. 

 Curiously enough there is no mention in literature of this bird from 

 northeastern Oregon. Neither is there any record in the Biological Survey 

 files or in our own voluminous notes to indicate its presence in that 

 section. It probably occurs, at least occasionally, but has escaped detec- 

 tion during the brief visits we and others have made to that territory. 



Bank Swallow: 



Riparia riparia riparia (Linnaeus) 



DESCRIPTION. "Tarsus with a small tuft of feathers on back near toes; bill small, 

 nostrils opening laterally; tail much shorter than wings, emarginate. Upper parts 

 sooty, darkest on head and wings; under parts white, with sooty band across chest and 

 sides, and sometimes sooty spot on breast. Young: similar, but feathers of wings 

 and rump with buffy or whitish edgings. Length: 4.75-5.50, wing 3.70-4.15, tail 

 1. 10-1.2.5." (Bailey) Next: A burrow excavated in a perpendicular bank, the back 

 end lined with bits of grass. Eggs: 3 to 6, white. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from northern Alaska and northern Quebec south 

 to southern California, Arizona, Texas, central Alabama, and Virginia. Winters 

 in South America. In Oregon: Breeding species. Least abundant swallow in State. 



THE BANK SWALLOW is the least common of all the members of the family 

 over the State as a whole, although it is abundant in the colonies found. 

 It appears in April (earliest date, April 3, Yamhill County) and remains 

 until September (latest date, September ii, Harney County). It was first 

 reported from the State by Bendire (1877), who found a colony near 

 Malheur Lake on May 2.7, 1875. Jones (1900) reported it from Portland, 

 and Woodcock (1901) listed it from Dayton (Hadley), Sheridan (Pope), 



