Length: A little over 5 inches; the smallest of the six common swallows.

General Appearance: Brownish-gray above; band of same color across breast; throat and under parts white. The gray head and white throat form a cap similar in effect to that of the tree swallow.

Note: A twitter, less pleasing than that of the martin and the barn swallow.

Habitat: Sandy banks of rivers, and shores of lakes.

Nests: In holes made in sand-banks.

Range: North and South America. Breeds from the tree-regions of Alaska and Canada to southern California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and Virginia. It migrates through Mexico and Central America and probably winters in northern South America to Brazil and Peru.

The ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW resembles the bank swallow so closely that it is difficult to distinguish them, unless one can see the darker breast and throat of the rough-wing and the absence of a dark band across the breast. Upon careful examination of the latter species, each long outer wing-feather is discovered to have a rough saw-tooth edge.

The habits of the birds are similar, though the rough-wings, like phoebes, nest not only in banks, but against stone walls and stone bridges. They have a more restricted range than barn swallows. They breed from southern Canada to northern Florida and southern California, and winter in Mexico and Central America.