Relationship With Humans
The Barn Swallow is an attractive bird which feeds on flying insects and has therefore been tolerated by humans when it shares their buildings for nesting. As one of the earlier migrants, this conspicuous species is also seen as an early sign of summer's approach.
In the Old World, the Barn Swallow appears to have used man-made structures and bridges since time immemorial. An early reference is in Virgil's Georgics (29 BC) ...garrula quam tignis nidum suspendat hirundo (...the twittering swallow hangs its nest from the rafters).
It is believed that the Barn Swallow began attaching its nest to Native American habitations in the early 19th century, and the subsequent spread of settlement across North America is thought to have resulted in a dramatic population expansion of the species across the continent.
Many cattle farmers believed that swallows spread Salmonella infections, however a study in Sweden showed no evidence of the birds being reservoirs of the bacteria.
Read more about this topic: Barn Swallow
Famous quotes containing the words relationship with, relationship and/or humans:
“Henry David Thoreau, who never earned much of a living or sustained a relationship with any woman that wasn’t brotherly—who lived mostly under his parents’ roof ... who advocated one day’s work and six days “off” as the weekly round and was considered a bit of a fool in his hometown ... is probably the American writer who tells us best how to live comfortably with our most constant companion, ourselves.”
—Edward Hoagland (b. 1932)
“When any relationship is characterized by difference, particularly a disparity in power, there remains a tendency to model it on the parent-child-relationship. Even protectiveness and benevolence toward the poor, toward minorities, and especially toward women have involved equating them with children.”
—Mary Catherine Bateson (20th century)
“To not be afraid in our world is the message that doesn’t derive from reason, but maybe from this mysterious capacity given to humans which we call—not without a little embarrassment—faith.”
—Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)