Date:         Fri, 14 Jul 2000 16:18:16 -0400
Reply-To:     artworksbylydia <artworksbylydia@THEBEST.NET>
Sender:       Georgia Birders Online <GABO-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         artworksbylydia <artworksbylydia@THEBEST.NET>
Subject:      Curious Swallow?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi everyone,
    Today is Friday and I did my normal ramble around Jekyll.  As Ken
and others have talked about, the swallows are on the move.  Last week I
had 4 species , Rough-winged, Cliff, Purple Martins mixed in a hugh
group of Barn Swallows.  I didn't have much time to really look at them
for I was with a group so after the ramble I went back and the swallows
were gone.
    So today I told Marjorie that we were going to look at swallows.  I
got her trying to look at Barn Swallows while I was scanning for
others.  I pick up on Rough-winged mixed in with all the Barn Swallow
only really saw one Cliff Swallow.
    Now to the Swallow that was unidentified.
   It was smaller than the Barn and a little larger than the
Rough-winged.   It had a white rump.   It was easily pick out because of
the white rump. As I followed it, I could see the white underneath went
up from the dark tail to white under tail coverts, white belly, white
breast and defused into brown just below the bill.  This brown muddied
up the sides of the throat down the side of the neck and blended into to
the white at the flanks.  The under wings were a gray brown a little
lighter than on the sides of the throat and neck.  The head cheeks and
back were brown not blue or red brown just a brown. The bird was seen in
very strong and good light, no blues or iridescence ever showed on it,
just brown. The bird work the entire south end in the dunes from the
wreak to the 4-H center.  It generally flew about 7 to 15 feet off the
ground.  It would sometime bank higher and then back to about this
height. It would flap, flap flap its wings then soars for a while, then
flap, flap, flap, and then soar.  It was a different bird.  Other
Swallows present were Rough-winged, Cliff (not many of these), Barns and
Purple Martins..  What are the possibilities of an immature Mangrove
Swallow?
Lydia
Lydia C.Thompson
St. Simons and Jekyll Islands