INOIS BIRDS: Hirundinidae 
HIS REPORT, the third in a series of pa- 
pers on the birds of Illinois, deals with the 
ows. The introductions to the first two papers, 
he mimids and thrushes (Graber et al. 1970, 
) also serve as a general introduction to the 
, and the procedures and policies outlined in 
papers also apply to this one. 
me point that warrants emphasis and clarifica- 
is the geographic scope of the papers. Unless 
wise indicated, the data presented and the 
ments made refer to the state of Illinois (Fig. 1), 
are not confined strictly within its political 
daries. In faunistic studies of this type, students 
ly confine themselves to politically defined 
, probably because (1) it is generally not fea- 
for one student, or several students working to- 
r, to study the whole world or even a continent, 
(2) political units are generally well known, 
ly defined, and reasonably stable areas to at- 
t to cover. More than most states, Illinois has 
and limits marked by natural waterways, no- 
Lake Michigan and three major rivers. The 
northeastern boundary of Illinois lies over half 
across Lake Michigan, and though we would 
y include the information, there are almost 
ird records of any kind from the vast aquatic 
of the state which lies beyond a mile or so from 
hores of Lake and Cook counties. 
s to the rivers, their political definition varies 
one to another. Thus, the Ohio River is con- 
ed to be Kentucky, while the Mississippi River, 
place to place, is Illinois, Missouri, or Iowa, 
the Wabash River is, similarly, Illinois or In- 
. The biology of many species of birds is 
gly influenced by these bodies of water. Among 
wallows, for example, migrant populations are 
ally much higher along, or over, the major 
, than away from them. Also, the great roosts 
rple martins in the St. Louis area have, through 
years, been located on both the Illinois and 
uri sides of the Mississippi River. In our 
ts, therefore, we have included data from both 
S of the boundary rivers. 
fe hope that all students will be im- 
ed by the paucity of the presently available 
ledge on the birds of Illinois, and will thus 
‘couraged to fill in the great gaps. The swal- 
being generally colonial or semicolonial, are a 
—... _ ______e 
's Paper is published in part with private funds and by authority 
State of Illinois, IRS Ch. 127, Par. 58.12. It is a contribution from 
tion of Wildlife Research of the Illinois Natural History Survey. 
hard R. Graber is a Wildlife Specialist at the Survey. Dr. Jean W. 
I 4 Research Assistant Professor of Animal Science at the Univer- 
slinois. The late Miss Ethelyn Kirk served as Technical Assistant 
ction of Wildlife Research at the Survey. 
Richard R. Graber, Jean W. Graber, and Ethelyn L. Kirk 
particularly interesting group for distribution studies, 
and to determine their population trends we should 
know the location of every major colony or popula- 
tion in the state. We therefore appeal to all students 
of Illinois birds to examine the maps showing breed- 
ing distributions, and publish any additional infor- 
mation they may have. By this procedure we will 
ultimately learn the true distribution of all the IIli- 
nois species. 
In bringing together the available information 
on the swallows we have received help, especially in 
the form of contributions of data, from many per- 
sons. We should particularly acknowledge John 
Schwegman of Vienna, Peter C. Petersen, ype 
Davenport, Iowa, Peter Dring of Willow Springs, 
Loraine W. and James Funk of Liberty, Richard 
A. Anderson of St. Louis, Missouri, Sarah Vasse 
of Brussels, Elton Fawks of Moline, L. Barrie Hunt 
of Charleston, Mrs. Harry Shaw of Sterling, Lee 
G. Johnson of Rockford, Edwin C. Franks of 
Macomb, Dale E. Birkenholz of Normal, Miss 
Elda Goodmiller and Mrs. Glenn Williams of 
Elizabeth, Maurice L. Reed of Dixon, Mrs. Marian 
Cole of Deerfield, Ellen A. Hopkins and H. David 
Bohlen of Springfield, Michael D. Morrison of 
Sparta, Mahlon K. Mahoney of Kankakee, and 
Frank C. Bellrose and Robert Crompton of Havana. 
Donald Webb identified chironomid fly spec- 
imens for us, and Lewis J. Stannard and R. Weldon 
Larimore provided data and references on the par- 
asitism of cliff swallows by ticks. The staff of the 
Natural History Survey’s Wildlife Research, Edito- 
rial, Art, and Photographic offices all made valuable 
contributions in the final preparation and editing 
of the manuscript, and in production of the draw- 
ings and photographs. 
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW (Tachycineta thalassina) 
This western species is included in the Illi- 
nois bird list on the basis of a single adult 
male specimen taken May 4, 1897 by George F. Cling- 
man in the Calumet region of Chicago, an accidental 
record (Woodruff 1907, and Coale 1925). 
TREE SWALLOW (Iridoprocne bicolor) 
(Fig. 2 and 3) 
Spring Migration 
The Illinois literature contains no descriptions 
of the actual migration flights of tree swallows, and 
whether they are diurnal or nocturnal is unknown. 
