The barn swallow, (lat. Hirundo rustica) is a small migratory bird living in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, in this case, the photo was taken in the Poltava region of Ukraine. It is distinguished by a long tail with a deep fork-shaped slit and curved, long, sharp wings.
A small bird, body length 14.6-19.9 cm, wingspan 31.8-34.3 cm. The weight of the bird is 17-20 g. The colouration is blue-black with a metallic sheen above, and pale beige below. There are light brown spots on the forehead and front of the neck. The tail is long, with a deep cut in the middle. Males and females look approximately the same, although females are often slightly less contrasting in colour and have slightly shorter tails.
Spreading
Barn swallows live in all biogeographic regions, with the exception of Australia and Antarctica. The area where they breed includes Northern Europe, North America, North and Central Asia, North Africa, the Middle East, South China and Japan. They winter in South America, South Asia, Indonesia and Micronesia.
Easily adaptable to various conditions where there is forage, a source of water and a nesting site, usually an overhanging part of a rock or building, under which they build their nest in places inaccessible to rain. Often they can be seen in areas used for agriculture, where they settle near barns and other outbuildings. They also build their nests under bridges, under the eaves of houses (preferring stone ones over wooden ones), on boat docks, in stone caves, and even on slow-moving trains. During the flight, they try to stay in open spaces, often near water or along with mountain ranges. They usually nest at altitudes below 3000 m above sea level.
My observations are shy, loud, loud singing and chirping, and active.
Artist Elena Bandurka 