106 



KEY AND DESCRIPTION 



tail, and a white belly. Tail very slightly notched. This bird 

 builds gourd-shaped mud nests under the eaves of buildings 



and on rocks. (Eave Swal- 

 low.) 



Length, 51 ; wing, i\ (4-4^) ; 

 tail, 2 ; culmen, \. North America ; 

 breeding from the Potomac and 

 Texas northward into the Arctic 

 regions, and wintering in Central 

 and South America. 



4. Barn Swallow (613. CU- 

 lidon erytlirogdstra). — A com- 

 mon, chestnut-bellied, steel- 

 blue-backed swallow, with a 

 ' deeply forked tail. The breast 

 is dark chestnut, but the other 

 under parts are lighter ; the 

 under tail feathers are white 

 blotched. It nests in barns, 

 using mud and grass for build- 

 ing. In flying, it keeps nearer the ground than most swallows. 



Length, 7; wing, 4J (41-5); tail, 3-5; culmen, \. North America; 

 breeding from Mexico to the Arctic regions, and wintering in Central 

 and South America. 



5. Tree Swallow 



(614. Tachychieta bi- 

 color). — A steel- 

 blue - backed swal- 

 low, with all the 

 under parts pure 

 white. The back 

 sometimes has a 

 tinge of green, and 

 the wings and tail 

 are blackish. The young has brownish-gray upper parts. The 

 tail is very slightly forked. The nests are found mainly in 



Barn Swallow 



Tree Swallow 



