It’s Feb. 20 and the first spring migrant is flying low over the waters of a mountain lake in Transylvania County. The first tree swallow has arrived, but winter has not yet retreated and it’s a ...

The western counterpart of the tree swallow, the violet-green swallow has narrower wings and a shorter tail. This species frequently uses nest boxes. Polytypic (3 ssp., none separable in the field; ...