Violet-green Swallow

Tachycineta thalassina

Ebird provides this description of the Violet-green Swallow:  A relatively small swallow of western North America. Adult males have a white face and show turquoise-green upperparts and a purple rump in good light. Females and immatures are duller on the upperparts, sometimes just dusky-gray. In flight, note the prominent white “saddlebags” extending up from the underparts to the sides of the rump. Fairly common in a variety of open habitats, often foraging over meadows or ponds. Can be seen in large flocks, sometimes mixed with other species of swallow. Breeds as far north as Alaska; winters primarily in Mexico and northern Central America.  All About Birds provides this additional information about the Violet-green Swallow:  These aerial insectivores perform acrobatic stunts over lakes and streams high in the sky in search of flying insects. Violet-green Swallows can look dark at first, but their true colors come to life when sunlight illuminates their metallic green backs and iridescent purple rumps. They are a common sight in the West in spring and summer, but they vanish to Mexico and Central America for the winter. They can be distinguished from other swallows by the white patches on the sides of their rump and their white cheeks.

I saw my first Violet-green Swallow at the Corn Creek Field Station north of Las Vegas on the morning of May 22, 2021.  I had seen some Cliff Swallows hear the main pond but, oddly enough, this solitary bird was perched high up on a tree on the Songbird Trail, far from the water.  It looked like it was sleeping, but I got a few shots with his eyes open.  To the the blog about the trip that includes my visit to Corn Creek, look here.