552 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 
white, unspotted, and average .70 by .49 inches. Occasionally the bird 
selects a bank of gravel or clay, and one or two instances have been recorded 
in which it has nested in banks of sawdust.* On June 6, 1902 the writer 
saw from the train large numbers of Bank Swallows about sawdust piles at 
Otsego Lake, Otsego county, Mich., and as there were numerous holes in 
the vertical sides of these sawdust heaps it seems probable that they were 
nesting there, but it was impracticable to stop and investigate. Mr. E. 8. 
Rolfe found them nesting abundantly in North Dakota in the walls of an 
abandoned dry well about fifteen feet deep. He states that the per- 
pendicular clay walls were honeycombed with the nesting holes (Nidiologist, 
IIT, 96). 
The food does not differ appreciably from that of the preceding species 
with which it often associates. 
The Bank Swallow is of particular interest from the fact that it is common 
to both the Old and the New World, our common bird being identical 
with the Sand Martin of Great Britain, Scandinavia and northern Asia, 
and in the latter places it nests almost or quite to the Arctic circle. 
Dr. Gibbs and one or two other observers state that in their experience 
the Bank Swallow’s nesting burrows are not cylindrical, the openings being 
more or less flattened ovals instead of true circles, while in the Rough- 
winged Swallow the holes are said to be invariably circular. We have 
not been able to verify this statement, in fact we have seen burrows of both 
species which were perfectly cylindrical, although we have also seen many 
of the Bank Swallows’ which have oval entrances. 
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 
Tail emarginate or slightly forked, the outer feather about one-fourth inch longer than 
the middle pair. 
Adult (sexes alike): Upper parts nearly uniform brownish-gray, a little darker on top 
of head; a brownish gray band across the chest, and extending along the sides somewhat; 
rest of under parts pure white; wings and tail blackish, without white markings, the 
tertiaries brownish-gray like the back; bill and feet dusky; iris brown. Young: Similar, 
but the wing and tail coverts and most of the secondaries and tertiaries with buffy or 
whitish edgings. 
Length 4.75 to 5.50; wing 3.70 to 4.25; tail 2.10 to 2.25. 
250. Rough-winged Swallow. Stelgidopteryx serripennis (Aud.). (617) 
Synonyms: Bridge Swallow.—Hirundo serripennis, Audubon, 1838.— Cotyle serri- 
pennis, Cassin, Sclater, and others.—Stelgidopteryx serripennis of most authors. 
With the adult bird in hand one need only stroke the outer edge of the 
wing to feel the rough barbs of the first primary, which gives the bird its 
name. In size and color it closely resembles the Bank Swallow, but is 
uniform brownish-gray on throat and breast, only becoming white on the 
belly and under tail-coverts. There is thus no brownish chest band. 
Distribution.—United States at large, north to Connecticut, southern 
Ontario, southern Montana and British Columbia, and south through 
Mexico and Costa Rica. Breeds throughout its United States range and 
south into Mexico. 
In Michigan the Rough-winged Swallow appears to be less common 
than any other species. That it is really more abundant than it seems is 
highly probable, yet the fact remains that it has been noted at very few 
* Franconia, N. H., Auk, XX, p. 436. 
