This little swallow usually nests in large colonies. It has a graceful, fluttering flight, much less direct and rapid than that of the somewhat larger, though amazingly similar, Rough-winged Swallow, which occurs in many parts of Pennsylvania where the Bank Swallow does not nest. In identifying this species, take care to observe closely the brown band across the breast and the light brown back which contrasts with the blacker wings and tail.
ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW
Stelgidopteryx serripennis serripennis (Audubon)
Description.—About the size of a Barn Swallow; outer web of outer primary with tiny recurved hooks along the entire edge, noticeable when the thumb or finger-nail is drawn along it; these hooklets are sometimes absent in the female; the purpose they serve is not known. Adults: Above brownish gray, quite dark on wings and tail; throat and breast pale brownish gray; belly white. Immature: Similar, but the outer web of the outer primary has no hooklets and the gray of the throat and breast is sometimes washed with reddish brown. Length: 5¾inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A rather rare, somewhat local, and never abundant summer resident from April 15 to September 1, found almost altogether in the more southern and less mountainous counties.
Nest.—Of grasses and weed-stalks, lined with finer materials, but not with feathers, placed at the end of a burrow in a bank, as is the Bank Swallow’s, or in crevices in rocks along a stream, in abutments of bridges, or sometimes in pipes about dwellings which stand near streams. Eggs: 3 to 6, white.
The Rough-wing’s graceful, sweeping flight is less fluttering than that of the Bank Swallow. All of the swallows usually allow fairly close approach and therefore should not be difficult to identify.
CEDAR WAXWING
Bombycilla cedrorum Vieillot
Cedar Waxwing
Other Names.—Cherry Bird; Cedar Bird.
Description.—Plumage soft and silken; feet rather short and small; head with high crest; bill small. Adult male: Head, neck, breast, and back, glossy olive-brown; forehead and line through eye, chin, and throat, black; a white line extending backward from lower mandible to beneath eye; black forehead bordered behind with white; wings, rump, and tail, blue-gray; secondaries tipped with small waxen appendages; tail prominently tipped with pale yellow; sides and belly sulphur-yellow; under tail-coverts whitish; bill, feet, and eyes, black. Female: Similar, but usually lacks the waxen appendages on the secondaries. Young birds: Similar, but with only a small crest and noticeably streaked. Waxen appendages sometimes occur on the secondaries of the female as well as on the tips of the tail-feathers in both sexes. Length: A little over 7 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—An erratic and irregular permanent resident, being sometimes abundant, sometimes absent for several seasons; usually seen in flocks.
Nest.—Neatly built of weed-stems, twigs, and fibers, lined with softer materials, placed in a tree, usually from 12 to 20 feet from the ground, and toward the end of the branch. Nesting often takes place rather late in summer. I have seen a female sitting upon her eggs as late as September 11. Eggs: 3 to 6, blue-gray, spotted with black.
The Cedar Waxwing’s trim form and sleek plumage make him an outstandingly handsome bird. He has no song, however, giving forth only a fine, shrill eeeeeeee, which is scarcely audible to some observers. A flock of these plump-bodied birds sometimes sit in a tree-top, their feathers fluffed out. They catch insects like flycatchers. Sometimes they indulge in a queer little dance. In a cherry tree which is full of fruit, they sometimes pass tid-bits between them in a strangely deliberate, polite fashion. They are very fond of cedar berries, poke berries, and the fruits of the Virginia creeper, but the name “Cherry Bird” is well earned. Remember the crest, the upright carriage, the flocking tendency, and the yellow-tipped tail of this species. The waxwings are the only birds which have their tails tipped with yellow.
The Northern or Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrula) is to be found rarely in winter. Records of this species in Pennsylvania are very desirable. It is like the Cedar Waxwing in color, but is larger; the under tail-coverts are rich reddish brown, and the wings are marked with a white patch on the primary coverts, white tips on the secondaries, and white and yellow edgings on the primaries. When Bohemian Waxwings appear they are likely to be docile and unsuspicious, and will therefore give the observer an excellent opportunity to identify them satisfactorily.