\l.i.O\VS. :;._M 



part* mixed with duky, foruhcad and throat paler; outer tail-feather* hnrter. 

 5 ; W., 4-7 ; T., 8-80 ; R from N., -24. 



>rth Amen. u. ii'.ith to <ir.-. nliui.l ami Alaska; brvod* through- 

 out the tfrvaler port of iu range ; wiiitcn ait far aouth a* ftouthcrn Brazil. 



Washington, i-omni.'ii - abundant T. V., M.-d. :. i., s, ( ,t. Sing 



Sing, Common S. 1C., Apl. 15 to Sept. lit!, ruinl.ri.l^.-, OOOUDOa S. K . Lilt Cast 

 decreaaing, Apl. 20 to Sept 10. 



JVM, of mud and graaaea, lined with gnw*o and feather*, ^'.n. -rally on the 

 rafter of a barn or other building. t-<j<j, four to Mix, white, with mum ru* 

 apotaofcinnamdn-, olive-, or rufous-brown, generally smaller than thow on 

 the egga of P, luntfron*, -77 x -i4. 



Barn Swallows nest both in pairs and colonies, and during the 

 ig season arc more generally distributed than any of <>ur Swal- 

 lows. Almost every old-fashioned l>;iru with its great doors h<>pita- 

 blj opened is cheered by their sweet cull- notes and happy twittering 

 song as they dart in and out on their errands of love. 



Barn Swallows take first rank among a family of birds famous for 

 their power of flight. While their relatives are circling about feeding 

 on insects in the air above, they capture their prey nearer the ground, 

 skimming low over the fields, turning quickly to right or left, up or 

 down, and pursuing their erratic course with marvelous ease and grace. 



614. Tachycineta bicolor \'i,Hl. >. TREK SWALLOW; Wnmt- 

 BXLLIKD SWALLOW. .(./. l'p|'T purls .slcel-blue or HtiTl-jjri-fii ; under parta 

 pure white ; outer tail-fuatlu r* -."im-whut longer than the middle ones. l>n. 

 Upper parta brown'wh gray; under parU pure white. L., 5-90; W., 4*70; 

 T., *S5 ; B. from N., -22. 



Jtattye. North America, north to Labrador and Alaska; breed* locally 

 throughout its range; winters from South ('an>lina s>ut)iwunl. 



Waithington, eiMiimon T. V., Apl. 1 to May 'J") ; July M to Si-pt Sing 

 Sing, common T. V., Apl. 4 to May 2* ; Aug. 4 to Oct. 16. Cambridge, 8. R., 

 formerly common, now roininon only aa a migrant, Apl. 5 to Oct. 12. 



AVjrf, of coarse graaaea and feathers, in a hollow tree or bird-box. t'-j'J', 

 four to seven, white, -74 x -55. 



While our eastern Karn and Eave Swallows have abandoned their 

 primitive methods of nesting in caves or beneath cliffs, and the Bank 

 Swallows still adhere to the customs of their ancestors, Tree Swallows 

 are passing through a transition period in their history. Some accept 

 the houses or boxes erected by man as substitutes for the holes in trees 

 or stumps which others still use. 



New New York < ity they are the first bird- to flock after the nest- 

 ing season, and they begin to gather in our marshes as early as July 

 1. Their nurnUrs rapidly increase, and the maximum of abundance 

 is reached about August 15, when they outnumber all other Swallows 

 together by at least three to one. They return to their roosts in the 



