Barn Swallow

The barn swallow is a slim aerial insect-eater with pointed wings and a deeply forked tail extended by narrow streamers. Adults have glossy blue upperparts, a rufous forehead and throat, and pale underparts crossed by a dark breast band. Females resemble males but usually have shorter tail streamers; juveniles are duller and shorter-tailed. The species measures 17–19cm, including the elongated outer tail feathers, and its quick, flowing flight is usually low over open ground or water. (Wikipedia, barn swallow account)

Barn swallows breed across the Northern Hemisphere and migrate long distances to warmer wintering regions. They hunt flying insects over fields, wetlands and settlements, often following livestock or farm machinery where prey is disturbed. A pair builds an open cup from mud pellets and plant fibres, attaching it to a beam, ledge, bridge or other sheltered structure. Both parents feed the chicks, and birds frequently gather on wires or form large communal roosts outside the breeding season. (Wikipedia, barn swallow account)