BIRDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. 95 



Tachycineta thalassina Bonaparte, Oompt. Rend., xxxviii, 1854, 651. — Sumi- 

 CHKAST, Mem. Boat. Soc. N. H., i, 1869, 547 (hot and temperate zones. 

 Vera Cruz).— Ooues, Birds N. W., 1874, 86, part; Birds Ool. Val,, 1878, 

 419, part. 



Tachycineta thalasdnus Salvin and Godman, Biol. Oentr.-Am., Aves, i, 1883, 



233, part (Real del Monte; "Valley of Mexico; Hacienda de Tupdtero; 



Orizaba; temperate and hot regions. Vera Cruz). — Sharpe, Oat. Birds Brit. 



Mus., X, 1885, 119, 631, part (Puebla; Mexico; Presidio, near Mazatlan? 



Ciudad Durango?). — Sharpe and Wyatt, Mon. Hirund., 1894, 175, part, 



pi. 25. 

 Petrochelidon thalassina CAssm, Cat. Hirund. Mus. Phila. Acad., 1853, 5, part. — 



ScLATER, Cat. Am. Birds, 1862, 39 (Mexico); Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1864, 



173 (City of Mexico). 



t 



TACHYCINETA THALASSINA LEPIDA (Mearns). 

 VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW: 



Similar to T. t. thalassina, but smaller; back more often green than 

 purplish, and rump and upper tail-coverts bluish green, blue, or 

 (usually) mixed greenish blue and violet, instead of bronzy green. 



Adult male. — Pileum and hindneck varying from bronzy green to 

 purplish bronze, the lower margin of the hindneck more purplish, 

 often forming a distinct narrow collar; back, scapulars, and lesser 

 wing-coverts soft bronzy green, usually more or less tinged with 

 purple or purplish bronze — rarely strongly overlaid by the former; 

 median portion of rump, and upper tail-coverts, varying from bluish 

 green (rarely) to rich violet-purple mixed with blue, usually mixed 

 greenish blue and violet; wings (except leser coverts) and tail 

 blackish, faintly glossed with blue; lores grayish, becoming blackish 

 next to eye; supraorbital spot, auricular region, entire under parts, 

 and conspicuous patch on each side of rump pure white; under wing- 

 coverts pale gray, becoming white on edge of wing; bill black; iris 

 brown; legs and feet brownish; length (skins), 106-126 (116.1); wing, 

 108-120 (115.2); tail, 44-51 (46); exposed culmen, 4.5-5.5 (5.2); width 

 of bill at frontal antise, 4^.5 (4); tarsus, 10-11 (10.6); middle toe, 

 9-11 (10.1).« 



Adult female. — Much duller in color than the male; pileum and 

 hindneck varying from grayish brown, very faintly glossed with 

 bronze or bronzy green, to decided greenish or purplish bronze; 

 auricular region and supraorbital spot mottled with gray; otherwise 

 similar to the adult male, but green, bronzy, and purple colors of 

 upper parts usually much less bright, and white of anterier under 

 parts less pure, often tinged with pale gray; length (skins), 105-115 

 (111.1); wing, 106-115 (109.7); tail, 42-46* (43.7); exposed culmen, 



« Twenty-three specimens. 



