SKY SCANNER
Barn swallows get along just fine with humans, but they’re hard to snap
Our new birdwatching columnist attempts to photograph the friendly but unpredictably energetic barn swallow.
On any given day, if one was to look into an open green space over grass and trees, one will most likely see a number of small black birds flying swiftly in the sky — and if one tries to follow the path of its flight, one maybe left surprised the sudden change in its trajectory. This bird is none other than the barn swallow.
The barn swallow ( Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine (three toes pointing front and one backward) bird with blue upper parts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Glistening cobalt blue above and tawny below, barn swallows dart gracefully over fields, barnyards, and open water in search of flying insect prey. Look for the long, deeply forked tail that streams out behind this agile flyer and sets it apart from all other North American swallows. Barn swallows often cruise low, flying just a few inches above the ground or water. True to their name, they build their cup-shaped mud nests almost exclusively on humanmade structures.
When perched, the sparrow-sized barn swallow appears cone shaped, with a slightly flattened head, no visible neck, and broad shoulders that taper to long, pointed wings. The tail extends well beyond the wingtips and the long outer feathers give the tail a deep fork.
There are six subspecies of barn swallow, which all breed across the Northern Hemisphere. Four are strongly migratory, and their wintering grounds cover much of the Southern Hemisphere as far south as central Argentina, the Cape Province of South Africa, and northern Australia. Its huge range means that the barn swallow is not endangered, although there may be local population declines due to specific threats.
The barn swallow is a bird of open country that normally uses man-made structures to breed and consequently has spread with human expansion. It builds a cup nest from mud pellets in barns or similar structures and feeds on insects caught in flight. This species lives in close association with humans, and its insect-eating habits mean that it is tolerated by humans. This acceptance was reinforced in the past by superstitions regarding the bird and its nest. There are frequent cultural references to the barn swallow in literary and religious works due to both its living in close proximity to humans and its annual migration. The barn swallow is the national bird of Estonia.
These pictures were taken in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Taking pictures of birds in flight is a challenge, but taking a picture of the barn swallow in flight, is a completely different level.
With the camera shutter speed set on very fast, like 1/8000th of a second, the very best that this amateur photographer and writer has come close to are the pictures aside.