128 FAMILIAR Will) BIRDS. 



forehead chestnut ; head^ neck, back, rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts, steel blue ; tail very much forked ; chin and throat 

 chestnut ; breast, belly, and under wing-coverts buffy 

 white ; legs and toes slender and bkick ; claws black and 

 sharp. In the female the plumage is not so fine as in the 

 male, and the outside tail-feathers are not so long. The 

 young Swallows are marked somewhat hke the adult, but 

 they are not so handsome, and do not get the long feathers 

 that constitute the fork of the tail until after they have 

 left this country for a warmer climate. 



White and buff varieties of the Swallow are not un- 

 common. 



The note is a low musical twittering, probably more 

 soft and jdeasing than casual observers are generally 

 aware of j y 



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