Tree Swallow? Or Possible Bank?

[simonthetanner]

Hey all,

Here's a swallow from Southwest Oregon (Rogue Valley region), just a bit east of the normal range for coastal Bank Swallow but within reasonable range for the odd migrating vagrant. I was surveying a massive swallow flock when this little fellow flew through briefly, standing out from the surrounding Tree, Cliff, Violet-Green, and odd Northern Rough-winged Swallows with a darker grey-brown coloration and (my impression) smaller size. I'm pretty sure it is just a young Tree Swallow, on the basis of the fairly "thick" wings and tail and the bright white flanks, but the breast band does seem a bit dark compared to most Tree Swallows I've been seeing. Should I be considering Bank as an option for this guy, or is it just a young Tree Swallow?

Thanks much in advance!

[BirdNrd]

Bank I think. You can see the breastband.

[Tony Leukering]

1 hour ago, simonthetanner said:

this little fellow

Did you really mean this? I ask, because Bank Swallow is the smallest of the seven regularly occurring ABA-Area swallow species.

However, the wing base looks too broad for that of Bank; I'd go with Tree.

[simonthetanner]

11 minutes ago, Tony Leukering said:

Did you really mean this? I ask, because Bank Swallow is the smallest of the seven regularly occurring ABA-Area swallow species.

However, the wing base looks too broad for that of Bank; I'd go with Tree.

My impression was that it was smaller than the others, but it was not near any of the other swallows and that impression could easily be wrong. I agree the wings seem awfully broad for Bank... Tree is far and away the most likely option, but I'm just not used to seeing such a dark breast band on them.

[Tony Leukering]

1 hour ago, simonthetanner said:

My impression was that it was smaller than the others, but it was not near any of the other swallows and that impression could easily be wrong. I agree the wings seem awfully broad for Bank... Tree is far and away the most likely option, but I'm just not used to seeing such a dark breast band on them.

Understood. While most female TRES seem to lack chest bands in spring, there are some that sport such (most likely SYs??).

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