SWALLOWS 



385 



From Biological Survey, TJ. 8. Dept. of 



Agriculture. 



Fig. 475. Barn Swallow. 



tarsus shorter than middle toe 

 and claw; upper part 

 feathered. Adults : under 

 Fig. 474. parts tawny brown, darkest 

 on throat ; forehead dark 

 brown, rest of upper parts glossy 

 steel blue ; wings and tail tinged 

 with purple and green ; tail feath- 

 ers except middle pair marked 

 with large whitish spots. Young : 

 fork of tail shorter; upper parts 

 paler, under parts duller, brown of 

 forehead indistinct or wanting ; 

 throat and chest light rusty. 

 Length : 5.75-7.75, wing 4.60-4.90, 

 tail 3.70-4. 10, forked in adult male 

 for about 1.85-2.10. 



Distribution. Breeds from the 

 Arctic Circle south to southern end 

 of Mexican tableland; migrates 

 to Central and South America. 



Nest. A bowl-shaped wall- 

 pocket, made of pellets of mud mixed with straws and lined with feathers, 

 attached to side or roof of a cave or to timbers in barns or other build- 

 ings. Eggs : 3 to 5, white, speckled with brown and lavender. 



Food. Insects, largely flies. 



The long forked tail of the barn swallow gives it a peculiarly 

 easy, graceful flight, and one of its favorite feats is to catch the 

 insects that accompany a horse and carriage along the road, easily 

 circling around and around them as the horse carries the wagon 

 along at full swing. 



While the other swallows hunt more habitually in the sky, the 

 barn swallow is usually seen beating low over a meadow. When 

 resting on a telegraph wire it sings a bright, squeaky little warble. 

 Its call-note is given as a soft witt, witt, and its alarm-note as a 

 harsh Vr'r'r, t'r'r'r. 



Though generally associated with barns and meadows, it is often 

 found in towns, and along the line of the Canadian Pacific is one of 

 the commonest birds seen in the mountain canyons. 



GENUS TACHYCINETA. 



General Characters. Tail forked for less than length of tarsus ; tarsus 

 entirely naked. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



1. Upper parts metallic steel blue or greenish . . . . bicolor, p. 385. 

 1'. Upper parts green and purple lepida, p. 386. 



614. Tachycineta bicolor (VieilL). WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOW: 



TREE SWALLOW. 

 Adult male. Under parts pure white ; upper parts burnished steel blue ; 



