mPtrxDixTDj: — THE rwatj-otts. 347 



rcleu.sed would at ^)uv^\ Hv Itiick to tlieir brood. Tliev l)iiild a loose, soft, and 

 Avarm iie.st of line soft leaves and liay, aVmndantly lined witli down and 

 feathers, with which the ej^gs are not iinfreiiuently covered. Tlie addition 

 of soft Jind warm materials is often made during incubation, and tlie nest 

 is thoroughly repaired before it is used for a second brood, of which they 

 usually have two in a season. 



The eggs are of a uniibrm pure white, and are never spotte*!. They have 

 a delicate }>inkish shade before tiiey are blown. They are of an o]»long-t)val 

 sliape, one end more ])ointed tlian the other, and they vary considerably in 

 size. Thev vary in leniith from .75 to .873 of an inch, and in breadth from 

 .50 to .of). 



Mr. Hepburn states that the great mass of these birds leave California in 

 August, but tliat a few are resident during tlie winter. The princi}>al acces- 

 sion to tlieir numbers takes place about the end of February, an<l they be- 

 come quite abundant by tlie end of March. In Vancouver they ; i month 

 later. In IS^)'.\ Mr. Hepburn states tliat a pair constructed their nest in a 

 piece of canvass at the end of the yard-arm of a store-ship that lay off the 

 levee at Sacramento. He first noticed them on the 28th of Ai»ril, when tlie 

 nest had alrea»lv made some inouress. Wy tlie lOtli of May there were seven 

 eniis in it which were sli«>iitlv incubated. The nest was a iireat mass of 

 hay and dried grasses, in the midst of which was a cup shaped depression 

 very neatly lined with feathers, some of wliicli bent over, forming a slight 

 dome. 



Hirundo thalassina, Swains. 



VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW. 



Hirundo thnla.tsvift, S\v.\ixsoN, Phil. Ma*;. I, 1S27, 3»).5 (Mexico). —Am. — Ruf.wer, N". 

 A. (>i>l. I, 1857, 102 (till' tig. pi. V, fig. Ixxiv of egg bflongs to another .six'oie.s). — 

 Baiki), r>inl.s N. Am. IS.'.S, 311. — l.oiii), I'r. U. A. Inst. Woolwich, IV, 1SG4, 11.5 

 (Vancouver Isl. ; nests in holes of treesK — ('(»<>i'ER& 8r<'KLKY, P. R. K. Pep. XII, 

 II, 18.') (W. T.).— Co.triu, Oni. Cal. I, 1870, 107. Ch'liihm thxhtssina, Roik, Isis, 

 1844, 171. Tuifif/riiirfii (h(i!i<.'i,si'iti, (_\\i',. Mas. Ilein. 18.50, 48. Ilintiido {Tach^/ciiufn) 

 thohifisiii'i, Baii;i), Pev. Am. B. 1M)4, 2*.ty. Pttr^K-itiUdini tluihissiim, ScL.\TKii & Sal- 

 vix, Ibi.s, lS5i», 13 (Guatemala). — Id. P. Z. S. 18tJ4, 173 (City of Mex.). 



Sp. Char. Tail acutely emarginate. Bonoath pure white. Above soft velvetv-green, 

 with a very faint shade orpurj)lish-violet (.'oneeiitratcd on the naj>»' into a transverse l>an<l. 

 Rump lafhcr more vivid green ; tail-coverts showing a good deal of purple. C\d<u-s of 

 female much more ohsrure. Length. 4.7o ; wing, 4.r>t»; tail. 2.00. 



Hah. Western and ^[iddle Provinces of Unite*] States., s<»utli to Guatemala, ea.«;t to the 

 Upper Missouri. Brecils on Plateau of Mexico {SfMiniRAST). 



Youni^ birds are of a dull velvety u;ri\yisb-brown, not unlike the shade of 

 color of Cotjilc I'lporid, but may be distinmiished by the absence of the tuft 

 of feathers at base of toes, and the uray (not white) bases of the feathers of 

 under parts. There is only an ashy shade across the breast, nv>t a peetoral 

 liand. 



