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Barn Swallow
Adult--Upper parts dark steel blue; forehead, throat, and upper part of breast chestnut; under parts light chestnut buff; tail forked. Length--6.95.
Breeding Range--Throughout North America.
The nest is placed on rafters and similar supports, either inside or outside a barn or other building; it is made of pellets or mud with straws intermixed, and a deep lining of hay and feathers, the feathers usually overhanging the edge of the nest. The eggs, 4 to 6 in number, are white, with spots, dots, and blotches of reddish brown and purplish. Size--.75 x .55.
These birds are surrounded by superstition, and all sorts of ill-luck is promised to the person who kills one or even destroys its nest.
Probably, in former days, farmers realised more fully the value of these insect-eating birds, as threats were made in order to protect them from mischievous boys.
Two broods are reared, the first set of eggs being laid about the beginning of May, the second about five or six weeks later.