A Synopsis of the Birds of North America

by John James Audubon

FAMILY VI. HIRUNDINÆ. SWALLOWS.

Bill very short, much depressed and very broad at the base, compressed toward the tip; upper mandible with the dorsal line convex, the edges overlapping, with a small notch close to the slightly decurved tip. Head broad, depressed; neck very short, body moderate. Feet very short, tarsus very short, anteriorly scutellate; toes of moderate size; first large, all scutellate in their whole length; claws rather strong, compressed, well curved, acute. Plumage soft, blended, glossy. No bristles at the base of the bill. Wings extremely long, narrow, pointed, somewhat falciform; secondaries very short. Tail generally emarginate, of twelve feathers. Mouth extremely wide; œsophagus rather wide, without crop; stomach elliptical or roundish, muscular, with a dense rugous epithelium; cœca very small. Four pairs of inferior laryngeal muscles. Nest in holes in banks, buildings, or trees, or attached to the surface of these objects. Eggs from four to six, white, plain, or spotted.

GENUS I. HIRUNDO, Linn. SWALLOW.

Characters as above; tail emarginate or forked.

45. 1. Hirundo purpurea, Linn. Purple Martin.

Plate XXIII. Male and Female.

Bill rather stout; wings as long as the tail, which is deeply emarginate. Plumage silky, shining, purplish-black, with steel blue reflections; quills and tail-feathers brownish-black; tarsi and toes purplish-black. Female with the upper parts paler, and tinged with grey, the lower light grey, longitudinally streaked with black.

Male, 7¹/₂, 16. Female, 7⁴/₁₂, 15⁹/₁₂.

From the Texas northward. Rocky Mountains, and all intermediate districts. Migratory.