Subject: Violet Green Swallow
Date: May 2 14:40:59 2000
From: NJPharris at aol.com - NJPharris at aol.com


In a message dated 5/2/2000 2:25:02 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
mook at drizzle.com writes:

> Anyway, I saw what I thought were a bunch of Violet Green Swallows at
> Magnuson park last Saturday, and I'd like to know if anyone has any tips
> on ID'ing swifts and swallows.

Well, here goes.

V-G Swallows are somewhat bigger than Vaux's Swifts and tend to fly lower.

If it has a clear white belly, it is a swallow. If it also has white saddle
patches (which are surprisingly easy to pick out if you look hard enough), it
is a Violet-Green Swallow. Vaux's Swifts are kind of dirty gray underneath,
lighter towards the head.

V-G Swallows have triangular wings and shallowly forked tails. Vaux's Swifts
look like flying cigars, and their outspread wings look like a crescent moon.

Swallows flap both wings together and frequently fold their wings back
against their sides. Swifts look like they are flailing their wings about,
flapping alternately or haphazardly, with very shallow strokes; and they
generally do not fold their wings back while in flight.

I had five to ten Vaux's Swifts (occasionally joined by a few V-Gs) over my
back yard in south Olympia last night between about 6:00 and 6:30. Wonderful!

Good hunting!

Nick Pharris
Olympia, WA
NJPharris at aol.com