As she approached the front porch, the woman looked familiar. Having brought me nestlings in the past, she was disappointed that, because of the demands of her own growing family, she couldn’t raise the youngster clutched in her hand.

Opening her fingers slowly as I raised a swallow from her grasp, the woman thanked me for taking her charge. Feeding it insects, and often, would not be a problem, I thought. Figuring out which specie was going to be the challenge.

When Art saw the grayish-brown hues of the top of the bird and the lighter feathers beneath, he asked where had she found it. Having removed its nest from the quarry located between Big Spring and Garden City, a workman had given it to the woman’s husband. Since we had driven by the limestone facility on our way to pick up a hawk one year, we were familiar with the surrounding rangeland and the product that lay hidden beneath the scrubs and grasses.

Agreeing it was one of the plainest swallows we had ever seen, we could tell by the development of its feathers that it was close to becoming a fledgling. Our only clue as to its identity would be if it resembled its parents.

For four days, the swallow dined and exercised.

Upon calling Gail Barnes at South Plains in Lubbock, I mentioned we were still unsure as to what we had, even though we had looked through numerous books. We were headed her way.

When no call came after our visit, I sensed we weren’t the only ones in the dark. The ringing of the phone several days later was welcome. “You had a northern rough-winged swallow. It’s doing well,” said Gail.

Concentrating on that particular specie, we had concerns that required more reading.

Although the rough-wings normally used burrows they dug into the banks or bluffs along rivers or streams, they would adapt to what the surrounding terrain offered. Perhaps the parents had built a flimsy nest of dried grasses and leaves in a pipe. Known to find crevices under bridges, or holes in walls, the swallows had adjusted to the western environment and succeeded in raising their young.

In handling the swallow, we had not felt or seen any “rough” segment on the leading edges of the wings.

Through our search for more information, we learned the bird would acquire this distinction after a year of development.

At that time, along the outer primary feather of each wing, tiny hooks would combine into a saw-like effect. In flight, these serrations contribute to a whistling vibration that assists in courtship.

Although we had enjoyed having another specie, we were to miss other facets of its life.

In its juvenile plumage, the northern rough-winged swallow, attired in the most colorful rendition of its growth, would have its throat and upper breast covered by a soft buff hue. Cinnamon-colored wing bars would highlight its announcement of emerging adulthood.

With breeding maturity achieved, the bird again would be the drab coloration of its nestling days.

 Bebe McCasland is federally and state licensed to rehabilitate wild birds.