92 Bird Day Book 



THE BARN SWALLOW 



Swallow, why homeward turn'd thy joyful wing? 



— In a far land I heard the voice of spring ; 



I found myself that moment on the way ; 



My wings, my wings, they had not power to stay. 



LENGTH, about 7 inches. Distinguished among our swallows 

 by deeply forked tail. Range : Breeds throughout the United 

 States (except the South Atlantic and Gulf States) and most of 

 Canada; winters in South America. 



Habits and economic status : This is one of the most familiar 

 birds of the farm and one of the greatest insect destroyers. From 

 daylight to dark on tireless wings it seeks its prey, and the insects 

 destroyed are countless. Its favorite nesting site is a barn rafter, 

 upon which it sticks its mud basket. Most modern barns are so 

 tightly constructed that swallows can not gain entrance, and in 

 New England and some other parts of the country barn swallows are 

 much less numerous than formerly. Farmers can easily provide 

 for the entrance and exit of the birds and so add materially to their 

 numbers. It may be well to add that the parasites that sometimes 

 infest the nests of swallows are not the ones the careful housewife 

 dreads, and no fear need be felt of the infestation spreading to the 

 house. Insects taken on the wing constitute the almost exclusive 

 diet of the barn swallow. More than one-third of the whole consists 

 of flies, including unfortunately some useful parasitic species. Bee- 

 tles stand next in order and consist of a few weevils and many of the 

 small dung beetles of the May beetle family that swarm over the 

 pastures in the late afternoon. Ants amount to more than one-fifth 

 of the whole food, while wasps and bees are well represented. — 

 Biological Survey Bulletin. 



