BIRDS OF NEW YORK 347 



show a broken band of white when fully spread ; tail very deeply forked, 

 the most so of any of our swallows. Female and young : Usually paler 

 in color below; and the young have the tail feathers less elongated. 



Length 6-7 inches; extent 12. 5-13. 5; wing 4.5-5; tail 3-5; the fork 

 2-3 inches. 



Distribution. This species inhabits nearly the whole of North America 

 as far as Ungava and Alaska; winters in Central and South America. In 

 this State it is the most generally distributed swallow, a common siunmer 

 resident in all parts, arriving from the 4th to the 14th of April and dis- 

 appearing in the fall from the loth to the 20th of September, on Long 

 Island and in the southern Hudson valley occasionally remaining till the 

 5th to the 15th of October. 



Haunts and habits. This species is the common swallow familiar to 

 every country boy. It enters the old barn through any window, door 

 or small aperture, and flies about with a happy cheep and twitter, and 

 plasters its nest upon the rafters or crossbeams. This is made of pellets 

 of mud held together with a few straws, and lined with fine grasses and 

 hens' feathers. The top of the nest is always open, never inclosed like 

 the nest of the Cliff swallow. The eggs are from 4 to 6 in number, white 

 in ground color, rather thickly speckled with reddish brown, olive and 

 lilac. They average .78 by .54 inches in dimensions, and are elongated 

 ovate in form. The spots are usually rather uniformly distributed though 

 sometimes thicker near the larger end. 



This is another species which has suffered considerably by improved 

 conditions on the farm. The modern barn is often built so tight that the 

 Barn swallow can not enter and, even if he does succeed in building his 

 nest, it is usually knocked down because the modern farmer thinks the 

 swallows are unpleasant neighbors to have sleeping in his barn. Con- 

 sequently, in townships where formerly every barn was occupied by this 

 species — from 3 to 7 pairs in each large hay barn — there are at the 

 present time not more than i pair on an average in every 3 or 4 barns. 

 They still nest to some extent under the sheds and eaves of outbuildings 

 and in the less cultivated portions of the State still find a hospitable 



