These Barn Swallows were photographed at the McKinley Park Beach on lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Select this link to see photos or a slideshow of the Barn Swallow

The Barn Swallow is blue-black above with cinnamon-buff below and with a darker throat. The only swallow that is truly swallow-tailed. The wings are pulled back at the end of the stroke and have little gliding. The range covers most of the United States and Canada, except for the southeast US. It has a habitat in open or semi-open land, farms, fields, marshes, lakes, and wires. It usually nests on beams inside of barns or buildings. It feeds on a wide variety of flying insects.