344 USEFUL BIRDS. 
Bank Swallow. 
Riparia riparia. 
Length. — A little over five inches. 
Adult.— Dull mouse-brown above; white below; a broad brownish band across 
the breast; tail slightly forked. 
Nest.—In a hole made by the bird in a sand bank. 
Eggs.— White. 
Season. — April to August or September. 
This bird nests naturally in communities in sand banks 
along rivers, where the insects which form its food are plen- 
tiful. It early took advantage of man’s habit of digging into 
the sand, and probably increased in numbers as roads and 
railroads were cut through the country and sandpits opened. 
In this State its numbers have now decreased much, owing 
partly to the digging away of many banks in which it formerly 
bred, but more to incessant persecution by egg collectors, cats, 
“English” Sparrows, and other predatory animals. There are 
many sand banks in eastern Massachusetts formerly occu- 
pied by these birds which now know them no more. 
The note is a rather harsh twitter. This bird is almost 
entirely insectivorous, feeding on gnats, flies, grasshoppers, 
Tortricid moths, and many insects that are injurious to field 
and meadow grasses. Plant lice and spiders also form a 
portion of its food. 
Tree Swallow. White-bellied Swallow. White-breasted Swallow. 
House Swallow. 
Iridoproene bicolor. 
Length.— Nearly six inches. 
Adult Male.— Dark irridescent blue-green above; white below; tail slightly 
notched. 
Adult Female.— Upper parts usually duller. 
Young. — Upper parts brown; a faint dusky collar across the upper breast. 
Nest. —In hollow tree or bird house. 
Eggs.— White. 
Season. — April to October. 
When the Tree Swallows left their natural homes in hollow 
trees to nest in bird houses they probably increased some- 
what in numbers; but since the advent of the “English” 
Sparrow the Tree Swallows have been driven away from 
many of the bird houses in villages and cities where they 
