Barn Swallow

Known as the harbinger of spring. It has a long, deeply-forked tail and long pointed wings. The swallow is a fast flyer, performing characteristic mid-air twists and turns, both of the sudden and gradual kind. It feeds on insects (up to the size of butterflies and dragonflies) in flight. The distribution ranges across Europe, Asia, North America, and North Africa. European swallows spend the winter in South Africa, where they migrate between September and October; they return in April.