Barn Swallow ~ Hirundo rustica ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"In many parts of the world, having Barn Swallows nesting on one's property is considered a sign of good fortune or a harbinger of spring. Legend has it that Barn Swallows consoled Christ on the cross by trying to remove the crown of thorns from his head and attempting to divert those coming to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Stories are told that Barn Swallows got their forked tails because they stole fire from the gods to give to the people, and their central tail feathers were shortened when they were burnt off by a firebrand hurled by a wrathful deity. Other legends have it that cows will give bloody milk or go dry if anything inopportune happens to the Barn Swallows nesting on a farm; lightning may even strike a house if a Barn Swallow nest is removed." ~ Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Barn SwallowHirundo rusticabirdblueon the wingfeathersbillcolbalt bluetawny belowagile flyerdeeply forked tailnests almost exclusively on human built structureswinters in Southern Hemispheresparrow sized swallowrusty throat and foreheadwhite spots under tail seen only in flightfeed almost exclusively in flightlong distance migrantfauna

From *master gallery