Blue and Bluish 



grace in flying, and with a squeak rather than the really musi- 

 cal twitter of the gayer bird, the cliff swallow may be posi- 

 tively identified by the rufous feathers of its tail coverts, but more 

 definitely by its crescent-shaped fr-ontiet shining like a new moon; 

 hence its specific Latin name from lutia=moon, and/fo«s=front. 



Such great numbers of these swallows have been seen in the 

 far West that the name of Rocky Mountain swallows is some- 

 times given to them ; though however rare they may have been 

 in 1824, v/hen DeWitt Clinton thought he "discovered" them 

 near Lake Champlain, they are now common enough in all parts 

 of the United States. 



In the West this swallow is wholly a cliff-dweller, but it has 

 learned to modify its home in different localities. As usually 

 seen, it is gourd-shaped, opened at the top, built entirely of mud 

 pellets ("bricks without straw"), softly lined with feathers and 

 wisps of grass, and attached by the larger part to a projecting 

 cliff or eave. 



Like all the swallows, this bird lives in colonies, and the clay- 

 colored nests beneath the eaves of barns are often so close to- 

 gether that a group of them resembles nothing so much as a 

 gigantic wasp's nest, it is said that when sv/allows pair they 

 a. ^ mated for life ; but, then, more is said about swallows than 

 the most tireless bird-lover could substantiate. The tradition 

 that swallows fly low when it is going to rain may be easily 

 credited, because the air before a storm is usually too heavy with 

 moisture for the winged insects, upon which the swallows feed, 

 to fly high. 



Mourning Dove 



(Zenaidura macroura) Pigeon family 



Called also : CkKOLm A DOVE; TURTLE DOVE 



Length — 12 to 13 inches. About one-half as large again as the 

 robin. 



Male — Grayish brown or fawn-color above, varying to bluish 

 gray. Crcwn and upper part of head greenish blue, with 

 green and golden meta.iic reflections on sides of neck. A 

 black spot under each ear. Forehead and breast reddish 

 bijff; lighter underneath, (Genera! impression of color, bluish 

 fawn.) Bill black, with tumid, fleshy covering; feet red; 

 two middle t. .' feathers lonf^^est; all others banded with black 



108 



