Corey Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Southern Nevada today. I thought these were rough-wing swallows which are the most common here. Merlin says 3 of these are violet-green swallows, which I've seen here but only at much higher elevation. Merlin says the last one is a cliff swallow. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 (edited) Violet-green Swallow - note the white under the tail (Rough-winged Swallows have a brown under-tail) Is that the top or bottom of the bird? Violet-green Swallow - note the white on the lower back Cliff Swallow Edited February 26, 2020 by Jefferson Shank 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 #2 pretty sure that's the bottom of the bird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 (edited) #2 pretty sure that's the bottom of the bird Not sure about #2. Edited February 26, 2020 by Jefferson Shank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Ah yes, could be, sorry. ? They were swirling around so much I was just trying to get some identifying shots. It's been a long time since I've seen anything except rough-wing. I've seen cliff swallows in California, but never in Nevada. Although looking at the ebird hotspot graph data, they've been seen in this location in February before. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 Violet-green Swallow (VGSW) Cliff Swallow (CLSW) VGSW CLSW Size, shape, and structure are really useful in swallow ID -- the ABA Area has no two swallow species of regular occurrence that are the same in these features. The second bird's short-necked appearance along with wide-based wings and stocky body is the same as in the bird in the 4th pic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean C Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 20 hours ago, Tony Leukering said: Violet-green Swallow (VGSW) Cliff Swallow (CLSW) VGSW CLSW Size, shape, and structure are really useful in swallow ID -- the ABA Area has no two swallow species of regular occurrence that are the same in these features. The second bird's short-necked appearance along with wide-based wings and stocky body is the same as in the bird in the 4th pic. agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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