ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. 403 



ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. 



Stelgidopteryx serripennis. 



Char. Above, grayish brown ; beneath, brownish gray, whitening on 

 the belly. Edge of wings rough to the touch; "outer web of the first 

 primary with recurved booklets " which are lacking on the young birds. 

 Length 5 to 5X inches. 



Nest. In a cavity of a bank or in a crevice of a stone wall or bridge, 

 usually near a stream ; made of dry grass lined with feathers. 



Egg^- 4-7 ; white ; 0.75 X 0.50. 



We are indebted to Audubon for the discovery of this spe- 

 cies so much aUied to the preceding, who first observed it 

 near Bayou Sara, and afterwards in South CaroHna. Of its 

 habits he says nothing ; but it is rarer, and he thinks its 

 habitual residence may prove to be far to the westward, — 

 perhaps the valleys of the Columbia. 



This species is more common in the Western Fauna! Province 

 than in the East; it is abundant in British Columbia, but Mr. 

 Thompson has not put it in his " Birds of Manitoba." It occurs 

 regularly, however, throughout the Eastern States north to New 

 York, Ohio, and Illinois, and sparingly in Connecticut. It has also 

 been found in parts of Ontario. 



In appearance and habits it so closely resembles the Bank Swal- 

 low that it may be overlooked by the casual observer ; it does not, 

 however, confine its choice of a nesting site to a sand-bank, but 

 will place its nest amid the stones of a wall or bridge, in a crevice 

 of a building, or even in a knot-hole. It differs also from the Bank 

 Swallow in being of a paler color, and both of these birds differ 

 from our other swallows in wearing no metallic tints. 



Note. — The Cuban Cliff Swallow {Peh'ochelidoyi fulvd) 

 and the Bahaman Swallow {Callichelidon cyaneoviridis) have 

 been added to the United States fauna by Mr. W. E. D. Scott, 

 who captured examples on Dry Tortugas island during March and 

 April, 1890. 



