Barn Swallow, wings down

Hirundo rustica

Barn Swallow · Green-Wood Cemetery · 25 April 2026

A Barn Swallow in flight over Green-Wood in late April, wings driven fully down through the stroke, just arrived from South America and feeding hard over open ground after the crossing. Barn Swallows breed across the whole Northern Hemisphere, almost always under a man-made roof.

The long streamer tail feathers are longer on males than females and appear to work as a signal of quality to prospective mates as much as anything aerodynamic - females prefer males with longer, more symmetrical streamers, and the males pay for it in manoeuvrability.