Classic Book Library : Science : Bird Neighbors. : Chapter 57 : Page 1 of 2

Length -- 6.5 to 7 inches. A trifle larger than the English sparrow. Apparently considerably larger, because of its wide wingspread. Male -- Glistening steel-blue shading to black above. Chin, breast, and underneath bright chestnut-brown and brilliant buff that glistens in the sunlight. A partial collar of steel-blue. Tail very deeply forked and slender. Female -- Smaller and paler, with shorter outer tail feathers, making the fork less prominent. Range -- Throughout North America. Winters in tropics of both Americas. Migrations -- April. September. Summer resident.

Any one who attempts to describe the coloring of a bird's plumage knows how inadequate words are to convey a just idea of the delicacy, richness, and brilliancy of the living tints. But, happily, the beautiful barn swallow is too familiar to need description. Wheeling about our barns and houses, skimming over the fields, its bright sides flashing in the sunlight, playing "cross tag" with its friends at evening, when the insects, too, are on the wing, gyrating, darting, and gliding through the air, it is no more possible to adequately describe the exquisite grace of a swallow's flight than the glistening buff of its breast.