Subject: Re: Bank Swallows?????
Date: Jul 28 23:00:19 1998
From: Michael Price - mprice at mindlink.bc.ca


Hi Tweets,

In reply to Gerald Hamilton, Raymond Korpi writes:

>> Immature TREE SWALLOWS can and often do show a partial brown band around
>> the breast and are brown in plumage, a brown much closer to Bank Swallow
>> color than Rough-winged. At Sturgeon Lake on Sauvie Island, a Bank
>> Swallow or two are often found in migration, but the Bank Swallow
>> look-alikes tend to predominate.

Yep, this one will bashfully admit to falling for that one recently. With
witnesses. But when one does see the real thing, there's no mistaking it:
small, pale brown, constant nattering call, much fluttering but very little
gliding, and stark contrast between brown upperparts and bone-white
underparts with a distinct blackish-looking ring.

On the coast at the latitude of Vancouver BC, there seem to be two migratory
windows for Bank Swallow Riparia riparia, the northbound one lasting a
couple of weeks in mid-May in which they can be locally
numerous--particularly at the Iona Island settling and Outer Ponds for a few
days, whereas the southbound movement seems less distinct but, generally
speaking, seems to be from later August to mid- or late September.

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery, and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)