Re: [SBB] 3 Bank Swallows in Alviso - 9/18/06

[Al Eisner <[[email protected]]>]

On Mon, 18 Sep 2006, Mike Rogers wrote:

>  I spent about a half hour watching the swallow flock near the Alviso
> Marina over lunch today 9/18/06. Among 90 BARN SWALLOWS were 6
> VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, 5 TREE SWALLOWS, 1 NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED
> SWALLOW, 1 CLIFF SWALLOW, and 3 BANK SWALLOWS. All the non-Barn
> Swallows were first fall birds. Note that the young Tree Swallows can
> be confused with the Bank Swallows since they are almost entirely
> brown and have variable dusky breast bands. The real Bank Swallows
> have broad brown chest bands that are the same color as the upperparts
> (sometimes with a brown spike down the middle of the breast), have
> pale whitish color curling up behind the brown auriculars (cheeks) and
> on the forehead in front of the eye, are smaller, and are more
> prominently edged pale on the coverts and tertials (all three birds
> today were hatch-year birds).
>
>  The young CLIFF SWALLOW was acquiring adult coloration, already
> sporting a largely rufous throat and a rufous forehead
> patch. Apparently young Cliffs can show this forehead color without
> making them a "southwestern" race Cliff Swallow or a Cave Swallow (put
> Sibley's "Pale-throated juvenile" forehead patch on the "Juvenile",
> brighten the throat patch a bit, and you have a good match to today's
> bird).

I somehow forgot to mention that the young Cliff Swallow was also there
yesterday.  In fact, I had seen one there a week earlier (July 9) -- but
on that occasion I didn't find any Banks.
								AL Eisner

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