1924] Swwrth: Birds and Mammals of the Skeena River Region 359 



Tachycineta thalassina lepida Mearus. Northern Violet-green Swallow 



The most abundant species of swallow. Lijje the tree swallow it 

 was nesting when we a.rri-ved, the end of May, and, similarly, occupy- 

 ing sites in buildings in town and on the farms. Seen only in the lo-w- 

 lands. The latter part of August the species disappeared, and T 

 supposed had already gone south, but on September 24 and 26 large 

 flocks appeared circling about over Hazelton. 



Stelgidopteryx serriponnis (Audubon). Rough-winged Swallow 



Breeds in small numbers about Hazelton and in Kispiox Valley, 

 twenty-three miles to the nortlnvard. Present when we arrived, the 

 end of May. Seen only in the lowlands, and not met with after our 

 return from the mountains, the middle of August. 



Bombycilla garrula pallidiceps Eeiohenow. Bohemian Waxwing 



First seen in Kispiox Valley, July 5. Five birds appeared, and 

 three were collected. They seemed to be birds that had finished nest- 

 ing. Next encountered August 22, a flock of twenty or more at the 

 same place. During the remainder of our stay flocks numbering from 

 ten to twenty were seen occasionally, generally flying overhead, in 

 Kispiox Vallej^ and about Hazelton. Five specimens (nos. 42438- 

 42442) were collected, all adidts. One bird shot August 22 is just 

 beginning the annual molt; another, taken August 27, is in the midst 

 of it. Both these molting birds have new tail feathers (some of them 

 less than half -grown) and in one specimen the yellow -marked wing 

 feathers also are new. It is a curious fact that these yellow markings, 

 especially those on the tail, are not so brilliant in these adult birds as 

 they are in certain nestlings at hand. (For description of these young 

 birds see Swarth, 1922, p. 279.) In the juveniles the tail band is 

 decidedly orange, a color not seen in am' other specimen examined, 

 summer or winter. Winter flocks must be composed largely of young 

 of the previous season, and the absence of any birds with orange 

 colored tail band probably means that this color fades appreciably 

 soon after the feathers get their growth. It seems strange, though, ■ 

 that similar changes cannot be traced in the rectrices of the adult. 



There is a slight difl'erence in the sexes of the Bohemian waxwing 

 described by Tischler (1918, p. 8.5) that had apparently escaped the 

 notice of earlier observers. In his opinion the only passably sure mark 



