SWALLOWS 



(614) Iridoprocne bicolor 



(ViciU.) (Gr., mythological characters, 

 also the rainbow; Lat., two-colored). 



TREE SWALLOW; WHITE 

 BELLIED SWALLOW, /Irfv.— 

 Entire under parts pure white; whole 

 upper parts steel-blue with greenish 

 reflections; loral spot black. Iiii. — 

 Upper parts brownish-gray; under 

 parts dull white. Tail barely forked. 

 L., 5.90; W., 4.60; T., 2.40. Nesl — 

 Of grasses, lined with feathers; in 

 cavities of trees or in bird boxes; four 

 or five clear white eggs, .75 x .52. 



Ratige — Breeds from Va., Mo. and 

 Cal. north to Ungava, Keewatin and 

 Alaska. Winters from N. Car., the 

 Gulf States and Cal. southward. 

 (615.1) BAHAMA SWALLOW 

 (Calhchelidon cyaneoviridis) is acci- 

 dental in southern Fla. 



eaves; hence their local name. These nests, made exter- 

 nally of pellets of clayey mud are gourd-shaped and have an 

 entrance on the side; this entrance is variable, but in the 

 best examples of Eave Swallow architecture protrudes in a 

 prominent neck through which the birds enter and leave. 

 The interior of the abode is lined with grasses and feathers. 

 In the west, where there are not nearly enough buildings to 

 accommodate the swallow population, they continue to be 

 typical Cliff Swallows and attach their mud homes to the 

 faces of cliffs. They are very gregarious, some cliffs having 

 thousands of nests plastered to them, often with no spaces 

 between. 



BARN SWALLOWS might almost be said to be semi- 

 domesticated especially in the east where nearly all of them 

 nest inside of barns or other buildings. Access is gained 

 through a broken window or the big barn door. Some 

 farmers every spring remove one or more panes in upper 

 windows just to provide doors for the entrance of the swal- 



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