General Description: Northern Rough-winged Swallows (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) are birds of the open sky that feed on the wing and don't often perch where you can get a good look at them. In flight, Rough-wings are dark brown above and light gray below, but the colors are dingy, and the chin and breast look dirty.

Taxonomy: Passeriformes, Hirundinidae, Hirundininae.

Favored Habitat: Swallows are birds of the open sky that feed on the wing. They can be found in most habitats as they pass through the Las Vegas area during migration.

Where to Find: Northern Rough-winged Swallows can be found anywhere, but look for them over open marshy areas and water. Look for them at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, the meadow at Calico Basin, and the pasture at Corn Creek.

Comments: Swifts and swallows can sometimes be hard to tell apart in flight. The key is the way they fly. Swallows flap their wings like normal birds -- both wings go up and down at the same time. Swifts do this too, but they flap so quickly that the wings appear to move in opposite directions with one wing going up while the other goes down -- their flight appears to be more of a swimming motion.

Swallows often perch on utility wires, and when they do, they spread out just far enough so that one can't peck the next.