Rough-winged Swallow 423 
female the barbs are stiffened and produced, but not hooked ; tail 
short, about half the length of the wing, very nearly square ; tarsus 
without a tuft of feathers, claws short, that of the hallux less than its 
digit. Sexes alike ; eggs white. 
This genus, containing several species, is confined to the temperate 
and tropical regions of continental America. Only one species is 
met with in the United States. 
Rough-winged Swallow. Stelgidopteryx serripennis. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 617—Colorado Records—Allen 72, p. 149; 
Henshaw 75, p. 219; Allen & Brewster 83, p. 160; Drew 85, p. 15; 
Beckham 85, p. 141 ; Morrison 88, p. 73 ; Cooke 97, pp. 19, 111 ; Dille 
03, p. 74; Gilman 07, p. 158. 
Description.—Male—Above pale mouse-brown nearly uniform except 
on the wings and tail, which are a shade darker ; below a paler shade 
of mouse-brown shading into white on the lower-breast, abdomen 
and under tail-coverts ; outer primary with the barbs of the outer web 
produced and hooked ; iris brown; bill black; legs horny-brown. 
Length 4-75 ; wing 4-25; tail 2-10; culmen -25; tarsus -40. 
The female resembles the male but is slightly smaller, and the barbs 
of the outer web of the outer primary slightly produced and stiffened 
but not hooked—wing about 4-0. The young bird is slightly washed 
with fawn above and has fawn-coloured tips and edgings to most of 
the coverts and secondaries; the throat and chest are also slightly 
tinged with the same colour. 
Distribution.—Breeding in temperate North America from British 
Columbia and Massachusetts south to central Mexico ; south in winter 
to Costa Rica and occasionally on the coast of South Carolina. 
In Colorado the Rough-winged Swallow is a fairly common summer 
bird along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, from Cheyenne 
over the Wyoming border to Trinidad, where it was found breeding 
by Aiken, but it does not go up into the mountains. It has also been 
met with in the south-western portion of the State at Fort Lewis by 
Gilman, and is stated by Morrison on the authority of Anthony to 
occur on the Animas River near Silverton ; if so it reaches an elevation 
of 9,000 feet, a good deal higher than was previously supposed. It 
arrives in Colorado about the first week in May. 
Habits.—The Rough-winged Swallow resembles the 
Bank-Swallow in habits and actions; its swift and low 
flight and twittering notes being very similar. They 
are not, however, so gregarious in their habits, and nest 
in smaller numbers or even singly. The nest-holes are 
