HIRUNDINIDiE, SWALLOWS. GEN. 44, 4.5. 



113 



Swallows are insectivorous, and therefore migratory in cold and temperate lati- 

 tudes ; unsurpassed in powers of flight, they are enabled to j^ass with ease and 

 swiftness from one countrj' to another, as the state of the weather may require. 

 With us a few warm days in February and March often allure them northward, only 

 to be driven back again by the cold, giving rise to the well-known adage. No birds 

 are better known to all classes than these, and none so welcome to mau'^ abode — 

 cherished witnesses of peace and plenty in the homestead, dashing ornaments of 

 the busy thoroughfare. 



The habits of swallows best illustrate the modifjdng influences of civilization on 

 indigenous birds. Formerly, they all bred on cliffs, in banks, in hollows of trees, 

 and similar places, and many do so still. But most of our species have forsaken 

 these primitive haunts to avail themselves of the convenient artificial nesting places 

 that man, intentionally or otherwise, provides. Some are just now in a transition 

 state ; thus the purple martin, in settled parts of the countr^^, chooses the boxes 

 everywhere provided for its accommodation, wliile in the West it retains its oM 

 custom of breedino; in hollow trees. 



V 



^\ ^ 44. Genus HIRUNDO Linnceus. 



j^ Barn Swalloto. Lustrous steel blue; below, rufous or pale chestnut 

 of varying shade ; forehead, chin and thro;it deep chestnut ; breast with an 

 imperfect steel-blue colhir ; tail forficate, 

 its outer feathers attenuate, all but the 

 niidclle pair with white spots on the inner 

 web; bill and feet black. Sexes alike; 

 young less lustrous, much paler below, 

 tail simply forked. A^''ing 4J-4f ; tail 2^ 

 to 5 inches. North America, abundant 

 in the United States in the summer, 

 breeding iu colonies in barns and out- 

 houses ; eggs white, speckled. Wils.,v, 

 34, pi. 38 ; NuTT., i, 601 ; Aod., i, 181, 

 pi. 48; Bd., 308. . . . horreorum. 



45. Genus TACHYCINETA Cataanis. 



\\^' White-bellied Swallow. Lustrous 



green, below pure white; tail simply 



emargiuate. Young similar, not so 



glossy. 6-6J ; wing 5 ; tail 2J. North 



America, abundant iu the United States in summer. AYils.', v, 49, pi. 38 ; 



NuTT., i, 605; AuD., 1, 175, pi. 46; Bd., 310 bicolor. 



, I •:? Violet-green Sivallow. Opaque velvety green, purple and violet ; spot over 



the eye, sides of rump, and whole under parts pure white. Young similar, 



duller. 45-54- ; wing 4J ; tail 2, emarginate. Rocky Mountains to the 



Pacitic, U. S. ; au exquisite species, breeding iu knotholes and woodpeckei-s' 



holes, in pine woods and in weather-worn holes iu cliffs. (Allkn, Am. 



Nat. 1872, 274.) Aud., i, 186, pi. 49 ; Bd., 309 ; Coop., 107. tiialassina. 



Fig. 5t. Barn Sw.lIIoiT. 



^^ 



I- 



711.' 



KEY TO N. A. BWDS. 



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