Swallow was obseiwed by him “ only on No rth Mountain, where one or two pa irs were
n e sting in a b am ." Mr. Coombs, in his notes from St. Mary's, L o u k ian a, observes th a t
It IS a spring and a u tum n m ig ran t, remaining for a longer period in tbo la tte r season.
IIo noticed flights as la te as th o 23th of November.
I n tb e Caloosabatohie reg io n of Elorida Mr. W. C. I). Soott states th a t th o p resent
species is n o t only a m ig ran t, b u t th a t enough remain d u rin g th e win ter to allow the
species to be regarded as resident, and not casual, a t th a t season. Tho same careful
observer found tliis Swallow on th e Tortugas off W e ste rn Elorida, b u t it was not
common. A small flock made its appearance on th e 29th of March, and remained near
by all th a t day and p a rt of th e next. There were in a ll about a dozen birds, two of
which were procured.
Mr. A ttw a te r records it as a common m ig ra n t ne ar San Antonio, in Texas.
According to Mr. Streator, tliis species is a common summer resident in th e coast-
region of Britisli Columbia, aud breeds there. Mr. Jo h n E a n u in found th a t i t was more
a b u n d an t east of th e Cascades.
Mr. Belding gives some additional notes ou th is species in his p ap er ou th e birds
of tb e Pacific D is tr ic t:—A t San Diego he says th a t i t is “ of occasional occurrence in
winter ; not seen a t Campo and «0 miles south in May, 1881. Perhaps none breed so far
south as San Diego, where it was a b u n d an t iu Eehruary, b u t n o t seen a fte r th e 1st of
April.”
A t Santa Cruz, San José, aud Marysville, i t is a n a b u n d an t summer resident. Near
Stockton ou tho 6 th and 6 th December he noticed about a h u n d red specimens. U e also
saw on December 6, 1878, a large flock. On J a n u a ry 18, 1805, bo saw h undreds or
thousands in a drive of six miles in th e country. The n e x t day being densely foggy,
none were seen. I t is a very common summer resident of Central California, mm-é
especially in th e valleys and foot-hills, nestin g about b u ildings as well as in knot-holes
o t trees in th e country. U e saw a p a ir c a rry in g grass in to a kuot-holc a t Stockton as
early as M a rd i 25, 1879.
Mr. B e lding’s dates of th e a rriv al of this Swallow, derived from many sources, show
th a t i t has been noticed in California as early as th e 1 8th o f J an u a ry , and many instances
aro given of its a rriv al in E ebm ary . I n British Columbia its a rriv al is late r, as
Mr. E an u in noticed its a rriv al on th e 13 th of M a rd i, while Mr. Anth o n y gives th o ’ttli
of Ap ril as its a rriv al iu Oregon.
Dr. C. U a r t M e rriam’s account of tb e D e a th V alley Expedition contains the following
note “ Wliito-belliod Swallows were seen in a few places d u rin g migration. Several
were seen a t Asli Meadows, Nevada, Ma rch 12, and a number near th e Colorado lliver,
March 10-13. A t Euruaoo Creek, D e a th Valley, it was common ab o u t tlio reservoir,
March 23-21., and ag ain in th e middle o f April. A few were seen in Joh n so n C anon in thé
Pan am in t lla n g e , April -I,, and Mr. Nelson observed stragglers a t th e head of Willow
Creek, in th e same range, th e last of May.”
I n his paper on th e birds collected in North-e aste rn Sonora and North-western
Chihuahua, Mr. Allen records the White-bellied Swallow from San Diego, on th e eastern
slope of th e Sierra Madre, from th e 24ith to th e 20th of Eehruary.
Eor th e geographical d istribution of th is species, vic/e in fm , P la te 35 [Map].
Add
TACHYCINETA THALASSINUS p . 175].
Tachycineta thalassina, Belding, Occ. Pap ers Calif. Acad. Sci. ii. p. 191 (1890);
C. H a rt Merriam, N. Amcr. E auna, no. 3, p. 98 (1890); id. N. Amer. F au n a , no. 5,
p. 104 (1891); El. H. Lawrence, Auk, ix. pp. 40, 356 (1892); Anthony, t. c.
p. 307 ; C. H a r t Merriam, N. Amer. Eau n a, no. 7, p. I l l (1893); Alleu, Bull.
Amer. Mus. Nat. H is t. v. p. 40 (1S93).
I n his paper on th e birds o f Idaho, Dr. C. H a r t Merriam w r ite s :— “ I found this
speeies ab u n d an t along Snake R iv er and Big Lost River in Ju ly . Common in Birch
Creek Valley u n til th e middle of A u g u s t; a few seen afterward.” The same au th o r
observed the species also common in th e parks of th e pine p lateau of San Francisco.
Mr. R. I I. Lawrence, writin g of th e birds o f Gray ’s H a rb o u r, 'Washington Co., says
th a t th e Violet-and-Green Swallow was a p re tty common summer resident on th e h arbour,
especially a t Iloquiam. None were noticed a t Stevens Prairie, b u t i t was common at
Acosha in April, and Mr. Lawrence also noticed two individuals of th e species a t Astoria
in Oi'egon on th e 27 th of Marcli.
D u rin g th e Lumholtz Archmological Expedition to North-eastern Sonora and N o rth western
Chih u ah u a, th e p resen t species is recorded by Mr. Allen as having been obtained
a t Bisbec and San Pedro in South-eastern Arizona, in J u ly aud August, and again at
San Diego on the eastern slopes of th e Sierra Madre on th e 25th of E eh ru ary .
Mr. Belding, in his paper on th e birds of th e Pacific District, has given some
inte restin g notes on th is bird’s d istrib u tio n which add considerably to o ur article given
above. I Io w r ite s:— “ N o t noticed immediately on th e coast about San Diego, where
trees are scarce. My late s t Californian record is ‘ Big Trees, September 25,’ though
Dr. Cooper saw a larg e flock, Santa Cruz, Oct. 5. I have never found i t breeding in the
valleys of the n o rth ern h a lf of th e State, where i t is seen as a rare m igrant. A t M urphy’s,
breeding in cliffs with Micropus melanoleiicus.”
Mr. Henshaw says th a t it is an “ extremely ab u n d an t summer visitant in certain
portions of Eastern California an d W e ste rn Nevada, as, for instance, a t Pyramid Lake.
Thousands resort to th e niches and holes in th e faces of rocks for nesting-sites. In the
mountains, where it is also ab u n d an t, it selects for th is purpose the deserted holes of
Woodpeckers, giving preference to those in oaks.”
I n th e Volcan Mountains, Mr. 0 . Emerson noticed five birds flying ab o u t for th ree
hours on St. P a tric k ’s Day, when th e snow was two inches deep. H e also noticed a
llock on th e 30th of March, and on th e 1st of April th e hirds wore freq u en tin g the
3 T 2