206 PASSERES : Perching Birds 



BARN SWALLOW 



(613. Hirundo erythrogastra) 6-8 in. 



Whole upper parts steel-blue, except chestnut forehead; 

 throat and fore-breast chestnut, belly paler; steel-blue of back 

 extends forward on base of neck, often forming a band across 

 chest. 



Tail long, deeply forked, the outer feathers greatly attenuated. 

 Spread tail shows a row of oval, white spots except on middle 

 feathers. 



Immature: Pale buffy below, darker on throat and forehead; 

 chest-band brownish-chestnut. Upper parts duller. Tail shorter. 



TREE SWALLOW 



(614. Iridoprocne bicolor) 6 in. 



Steel-green above, including cheeks; all white below. 



Young: Gray-brown above, soiled white below. 



Somewhat resembles Violet-green Swallow. Compare cheeks, 

 and note absence of white flanks. 



Known also as the White-bellied Swallow. Perhaps the hardi- 

 est of its tribe, no other Swallow wintering so far north. 



NORTHERN VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW 



(615. Tachycineta thalassina lepida) 5i in. 



Above, green with violet rump; white below including flanks 

 and whole side of head. (Compare Tree Swallow.) 



Female: Somewhat duller, sides of head grayish. 



The extensive white flanks, reaching on sides of rump, are a 

 conspicuous field mark. 



BANK SWALLOW 



(616. Riparia riparia) 51 in. 



Brown above; white throat and cheeks, separated from white 

 breast and belly by a brown chest-band. This band contrasts 

 rather sharply with the white throat and easily identifies the 

 bird. 



