BARN SWALLOW
Hirundo erythrogaster. [Case 5], Fig. 32
Chestnut underparts and a forked tail are the chief characters of this beautiful Swallow. L. 7.
Range. Nests from North Carolina and Arkansas to Canada; winters in the tropics.
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.
Barn Swallows are far more beautiful, more graceful and more companionable than Purple Martins. But while we are erecting special dwellings for the Martins we are making our barns Swallow-proof. A pair of Barn Swallows are not only cheerful neighbors but good investments. Let us make it possible for them to enter the hay-mow. We may even supply shelves as foundations for their open mud nests. The white, spotted eggs are laid in the latter half of May.
TREE SWALLOW
Iridoprocne bicolor. [Case 5], Fig. 24
Silky white below and shining bluish green above; young birds are mouse-colored above but below are snowy white, unmarked, as in the adult. L. 6.
Range. Nests chiefly from southern New England northward and winters from South Carolina to Central America.
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.
We see comparatively few Tree Swallows during the spring, but from July to October, as they journey slowly southward, they are the most abundant members of their family. In countless thousands long ropes of Swallows crowd the wayside wires from pole to pole. At night, with others of their tribe, they roost in the marshes.