418 SWALLOWS 



Mex. s.'to Tepic; winters from s. Mex. to n. Argentina, and cen. Chile; 

 accidental in the Galapagos, Bermuda, and Greenland. 



Washington, common S. R., more abundant T. V., Mch. 30-Sept. 17. 

 Ossining, common S. R., Apl. 15-Sept. 22. Cambridge, common S. R., but 

 fast decreasing, Apl. 20-Sept. 10. N. Ohio, abundant S. R., Mch. 30-Sept. 

 22. Glen Ellyn, S. R., fairly common and increasing, Apl. 7-Sept. 1 

 SE. Minn., common S. R., Apl. 28- Aug. 31. 



Nest, of mud and grasses, lined with grasses and feathers, generally on 

 the rafter of a barn or other building. Eggs, 4-6, white, with numerous spots 

 of cinnamon-, olive-, or rufous-brown, generally smaller than those on the 

 eggs of P. lunifrons, '77 x *54. Date, Chester Co., Pa., May 19; Portsmouth, 

 R. I., May 18; Cambridge, May 25. 



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

 ing season are more generally distributed than any other of our 

 Swallows. Almost every old-fashioned barn with its great doors hos- 

 pitably opened is cheered by their sweet call-notes and happy twitter- 

 ing 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. 



The EUROPEAN SWALLOW (613.1. Hirundo rustica) is of accidental 

 occurrence in Greenland. 



614. Iridoprocne bicolor (VieilL). TREE SWALLOW. (Figs. 13, 110.) 

 Ads. Upperparts steel-blue or steel-green; underparts pure white; outer 

 tail-feathers somewhat longer than the middle ones. Nestling. Upperparts 

 dull brownish gray; underparts pure white, with sometimes a dusky breast- 

 band. L., 5'90; W., 4-70; T., 2'35; B. from N., '22. 



Range. N. A. Breeds in Canadian, Transition, and Upper Austral 

 zones from nw. Alaska, s. and w. Mackenzie, s. Keewatin, and n. Ungava to 

 s. Calif., Colo., Kans., Mo., and Va.; winters from cen. Calif., s. Tex., s. 

 parts of the Gulf States, and se. N. C. (casually N. J.) s. over the greater 

 part of Mex. to Guatemala and Cuba; occasional in Bermuda in migration; 

 accidental in the British Isles. 



Washington, common T. V., Mch. 26-May 26; July 8-Oct. 14. Ossining, 

 common T. V., Apl. 4-May 26; Aug. 4-Oct. 16. Cambridge, S. R., formerly 

 common, now common only as a migrant, Apl. 5-Oct. 8. N. Ohio, common 

 S. R., Apl. 10-Sept. 20. Glen Ellyn, not common T. V., rare S. R., Apl. 

 21-Sept. 8. SE. Minn., common S. R., Mch. 30-Aug. 31. 



Nest, of coarse grasses and feathers, in a hollow tree or bird-box. Eggs, 

 4-7, white, *74 x '55. Date, Saybrook, Conn., May 13; Cambridge, May 

 20; Jackson Co., Mich., May 15; se. Minn., May 26. 



While our eastern Barn and Cliff 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. 



Near New York City they are the first birds to flock after the nest- 

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

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



