Latin name - Hirundo rustica

The return of the Swallow in March from its winter quarters in South Africa is a welcome sight to many of us looking forward to summer. Its long, pointed wings and its forked tail with long streamers are a familiar sight in much of Devon and Cornwall as they swoop low catching insects on the wing in their large gapes. They can be seen over open ground, especially pasture; over rivers, lakes or other pools of open water. They have dark metallic blue upper-parts, pale under-parts and a reddish-brown face and throat. The male's tail streamers are usually longer than the female. Young birds are much duller and they have no tail streamers. Swallows raise leave two or three broods of young before leaving on their long journey to South Africa in October.