Barn Swallow over the water

Hirundo rustica

Barn Swallow · Green-Wood Cemetery · 25 April 2026

A Barn Swallow low over the pond at Green-Wood in April, just back from South America and feeding hard over the water where the first insects are. Barn Swallows breed across the whole Northern Hemisphere, almost always under a man-made roof, and a cemetery pond with a boathouse is ideal.

Deeply forked tail, rust-red throat and a steel-blue back, caught here with its bill open, likely calling rather than catching anything at this instant. Barn Swallows drink and bathe on the wing as well as feed that way, dipping to the surface in a shallow skim without ever fully landing.