SWALLOW. 



177 



what closely resembles the mule in colour, but the chestnut on the forehead 

 and throat are not so rich, the chest-band is narrower, and the outermost 

 tail-feathers are shorter. Young in first plumage have the forehead, throat, 

 and eye-stripe pale chestnut, which fades during the winter into nearly 

 white ; the upper parts are not so bright as in adults, the spots on the tail- 

 feathers are tinged with rufous, and the outermost tail-feathersnare much 

 shorter. These long tail-feathers do not assume their full length until 

 after the first moult in February, when the adult plumage is assumed. 

 After the spring moult the underparts below the pectoral band are slightly 

 suffused with rufous, which gradually fades into the adult summer plumage. 

 The Swallow may be readily known from its congeners by its uniform steel- 

 blue upper parts, its chestnut throat and forehead, and its acutely forked 

 tail characters which on the wing serve at a glance to distinguish it from 

 the Martin or the Sand-Martin. 



VOL. II. 



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