An agile, dancing flock of cinnamon-throated, forked-tailed birds has marked spring’s arrival for time immemorial. Watching the Barn Swallow swoop and soar as it feeds in mid-air is to witness a study in maneuverability: they even drink and bathe in mid-flight by skimming and dipping over lakes and rivers.
This resourceful bird shuns cities, but likes to nest in man-made structures near meadows and wetlands, which give it plentiful access to its main dietary staple: flying insects. Nest-building can take the two birds up to fifteen 14-hour days to complete. The Barn Swallow’s cup-shaped nests are usually constructed of mud pellets on high vertical or horizontal structures. These nests offer a relatively safe haven for the couple’s four or five spotted white eggs. Once the young birds are fledged, and the days begin to shorten, it is time for the swallow to fly south to warmer climates for winter, before returning in several months with spring in tow.
Diameter: 35mm
Material: Other
Obverse: Uncrowned Portrait
Reverse: Barn Swallow
Finish: Specimen
Quantity Produced: 14000
Theme(s): The Barn Swallow: A Traveller's Homecoming Signals the Return of Spring
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