418 
SWALLOWS 
Mex. s. to Tepic; winters from s. Mex. to n. Argentina, and cen. Chile; 
accidental in the Galapagos, Bermuda, and Greenland. 
Washington, common S. R., more abundant T. V., Mch. 30-Sept. 17. 
Ossining, common S. R., Apl. 15-Sept. 22. Cambridge, common S. R., but 
fast decreasing, Apl. 20-Sept. 10. N. Ohio, abundant S. R., Mch. 30-Sept. 
22. Glen Ellyn, S. R., fairly common and increasing, Apl. 7-Sept. 1. 
SE. Minn., common S. R., Apl. 28- Aug. 31. 
Nest , of mud and grasses, lined with grasses and feathers, generally on 
the rafter of a barn or other building. Eggs, 4-6, white, with numerous spots 
of cinnamon-, olive-, or rufous-brown, generally smaller than those on the 
eggs of P. lunifrons , ‘77 x *54. Date, Chester Co., Pa., May 19; Portsmouth, 
R. I., May 18; Cambridge, May 25. 
Barn Swallows nest both in pairs and colonies, and during the breed- 
ing season are more generally distributed than any other of our 
Swallows. Almost every old-fashioned barn with its great doors hos- 
pitably opened is cheered by their sweet call-notes and happy twitter- 
ing song as they dart in and out on their errands of love. 
Barn Swallows take first rank among a family of birds famous for 
their power of flight. While their relatives are circling about feeding 
on insects in the air above, they capture their prey nearer the ground, 
skimming low over the fields, turning quickly to right or left, up or 
down, and pursuing their erratic course with marvelous ease and grace. 
The European Swallow {618.1. Hirundo rustica ) is of accidental 
occurrence in Greenland. 
614. Xridoprocne bicolor {Vieill.). Tree Swallow. (Figs. 13, 110.) 
Ads. — Upperparts steel-blue or steel-green; underparts pure white; outer 
tail-feathers somewhat longer than the middle ones. Nestling. — Upperparts 
dull brownish gray; underparts pure white, with sometimes a dusky breast- 
band. L., 5*90; W., 4*70; T., 2*35; B. from N., *22. 
Range. — N. A. Breeds in Canadian, Transition, and Upper Austral 
zones from nw. Alaska, s. and w. Mackenzie, s. Keewatin, and n. Ungava to 
s. Calif., Colo., Kans., Mo., and Va. ; winters from cen. Calif., s. Tex., s. 
parts of the Gulf States, and se. N. C. (casually N. J.) s. over the greater 
part of Mex. to Guatemala and Cuba; occasional in Bermuda in migration; 
accidental in the British Isles. 
Washington, common T. V., Mch. 26-May 26; July 8-Oct. 14. Ossining, 
common T. V., Apl. 4-May 26; Aug. 4-Oct. 16. Cambridge, S. R., formerly 
common, now common only as a migrant, Apl. 5-Oct. 8. N. Ohio, common 
S. R., Apl. 10-Sept. 20. Glen Ellyn, not common T. V., rare S. R., Apl. 
21-Sept. 8. SE. Minn., common S. R., Mch. 30-Aug. 31. 
Nest, of coarse grasses and feathers, in a hollow tree or bird-box. Eggs, 
4-7, white, *74 x *55. Date, Saybrook, Conn., May 13; Cambridge, May 
20; Jackson Co., Mich., May 15; se. Minn., May 26. 
While our eastern Barn and Cliff Swallows have abandoned their 
primitive methods of nesting in caves or beneath cliffs, and the Bank 
Swallows still adhere to the customs of their ancestors, Tree Swallows 
are passing through a transition period in their history. Some accept 
the houses or boxes erected by man as substitutes for the holes in trees 
or stumps which others still use. 
Near New York City they are the first birds to flock after the nest- 
ing season, and they begin to gather in our marshes as early as July 
1. Their numbers rapidly increase, and the maximum of abundance 
