.vir n.i.o if. 75 



HIRUNDO BIPARIA. 

 Bank Swallow. 



llirundo ripari'i I. INN., S\-t. Nat., 1, 17C6, 84*. 



DESCRIPTION. 



SP. CH. Size, small. Form, slender. Upper mandible, slightly arched. Feet, not small and provided with a 

 tuft of feathers which grow from the heel. Tail, moderately forked. Sternum, quite similar to that of the preceding 

 species, but not as stoutly built. Tongue, stout, not very triangular, horny aud quite acuminate, with the tip cleft 

 but not ciliated. Tlu j nestlings have fleshy, triangular tongues. 



COI.OK. Adult. Above, band across the breast, under wing coverts and sides, slaty-brown; with the wings 

 darker and tips of the feather* of back hoary. The band usually extends down lu a point on the breast. 

 Remaining under portions, pure white. The young are similar. 



V. *rlin>j.*, with- a rufous washing above, on the band of the breast, sides and white of throat, which Is 

 occasionally obscured by dusky. Sexes, alike. Irides, brown. Bill, black. Feet, brown In all stages. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Readily distinguished from the closely allied //. serripennis by the smaller size and white throat. The tuft of 

 feathers on the heel is always present, but is frequently represented by two or three feathers; there are, however, 

 many more on others, and in some young birds taken at Grand Menan, they extend with very little Interruption 

 along the back of the tarsus quite to the tibial joint. Hank Swallows are distributed throughout North America 

 during the breeding season, wintering in Mexico and the West Indies. They are also found throughout the northern 

 section of the Old World. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of seventeen specimens. Length, 5-25; stretch, 10-76; wing, 3-95; tall, 1-95; bill, -25; 

 tarsus, -45. Longest specimen, 5-45; greatest extent of wings, irid; longest wing, 4-20; tall, 2-10; bill, -28; tarsus, 

 j'X Shortest specimen, 5-00; smallest exteut of wings, 10-10; shortest wing, 3-00; tail, 1-75; bill, -23; tarsus, -42. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



V'-y's, placed in holes formed in banks of earth, composed of dried gross, lined with feathers. They are very 

 shallow. Dimensions : external diameter, 5 Inches, internal, 4; thickness, 1 Inch. 



Eggs, from four to six in number, oval in form, and pure white In color. Dimensions, from -70 x - 45 to -60 x -40. 



HABITS. 



Although Audubon states that the Bank Swallow is abundant in Florida during winter, yet 

 I have never seen it in the state at that season. It arrives about the first of April, but I have 

 not found it at all common and do not think that any ever remain to breed. These are the last 

 of all the Swallows to make their appearance in New England, arriving about the middle of 

 May. They then quickly repair to some sandy bank and begin to dig burrows in which to 

 place their nests. They excavate the holes with their feet, aided by their bills, and although 

 these members are seemingly weak the birds manage to get on quite rapidly, often penetrating 

 a bank to the depth of three or four feet in a few days. These birds are highly gregarious and 

 from five hundred to a thousand pairs may be found breeding in a favorable locality. They are 

 quite numerous in the interior but seem to have a predilection for the coast, and will even inhabit 

 islands; in fact I found a small colony nesting on a lonely islet, one of the Magdalen (iroiip, 

 called Shagg Rock, which stands in the midst of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, more than a hundred 

 miles from the mainland. This rock rose abruptly from the water to the height of ninety 

 feet, but the top was covered with soil, portions of which overhung the water, affording tin; 

 Swallows a fine opportunity to build. The rocky face of the cliff was inhabited by Cormorants ; 

 hundreds of Terns, that were breeding on the upper surface, hovered confusedly about and filled 

 the air with their harsh, continuous cries, but amid all this discord the soft twitter of the Bank 

 Swallows could be heard as they flew quietly about their strangely chosen homes. 



Either this species do not mate until they begin to construct their nests or else they are 



