Betula nigra Betula nigra Betula nigra, the black birch, river birch or water birch, is a species of birch native to the Eastern United States from New Hampshire west to southern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and west to Texas. It is one of the few heat-tolerant birches in a family of mostly cold-weather trees which do not thrive in USDA Zone 6 and up. "B. nigra" commonly occurs in floodplains and swamps. "Betula nigra" is a deciduous tree growing to with a trunk in diameter. The base of the tree is often divided into multiple slender trunks. Bark Bark characteristics
White-winged swallow White-winged swallow The white-winged swallow ("Tachycineta albiventer") is a resident breeding swallow in tropical South America from Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad south to northern Argentina. It is not found west of the Andes. This swallow is largely non-migratory. The genus "Tachycineta" was established for this group of swallows by German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1850. The genus name derives from Ancient Greek "takhukinetos", "moving quickly"; the specific name "albiventer" is from Latin "albus", "white", and "venter", "belly". This swallow is monotypic, and no subspecies are currently recognized. The adult white-winged swallow is long and weighs . It has iridescent blue-green