Editing Barn swallow (section)

== Relationship with humans ==
[[File:Nederlandsche vogelen (KB) - Hirundo rustica (030b).jpg|thumb|In ''[[Nederlandsche Vogelen]]'' (1770)|alt=A coloured print of two swallows and a nest on a fence.]]

The barn swallow is an attractive bird that 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.<ref name=Welldon/>

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), "''Ante garrula quam tignis nidum suspendat hirundo''" (Before the twittering swallow hangs its nest from the rafters).<ref name=Virgil>{{in lang|la}} Virgil, ''The Georgics'' [http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/virgil/geo/geol04.htm Text Book IV line 307] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426223929/https://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/virgil/geo/geol04.htm |date=26 April 2021 }}. Retrieved 28 November 2007</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Haemig|first=Paul D. |author2=Hernandez J.|author3=Waldenström J.|author4=Bonnedahl J.|author5=Olsen B|journal=Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases |title=Barn swallows (''Hirundo rustica'') test negative for ''Salmonella'' | year=2008 |volume=8 |issue=4 | pages=451–454| doi=10.1089/vbz.2007.0233| pmid=18266565| issn=1530-3667}}</ref>

=== In literature ===
Many literary references are based on the barn swallow's northward migration as a symbol of spring or summer. The [[proverb]] about the necessity for more than one piece of evidence goes back at least to [[Aristotle]]'s ''[[Nicomachean Ethics]]'': "For as one swallow or one day does not make a spring, so one day or a short time does not make a fortunate or happy man."<ref name=Welldon>{{cite book |translator-last=Welldon |translator-first=James Edward Cowell  |year=1987 |orig-year=1897 |title=The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle |chapter=Book 1, chapter 6 |publisher=Prometheus |location=Buffalo |isbn=978-0-87975-378-8}}</ref>

The barn swallow symbolises the coming of spring and thus love in the ''[[Pervigilium Veneris]]'', a late [[Latin]] poem. In his poem "[[The Waste Land]]", [[T. S. Eliot]] quoted the line ''"Quando fiam uti chelidon [ut tacere desinam]?"'' ("When will I be like the swallow, so that I can stop being silent?") This refers to the myth of [[Philomela (princess of Athens)|Philomela]] in which she turns into a [[nightingale]], and her sister [[Procne]] into a [[swallow]].<ref>{{cite book |last = Nims |first = John Frederick |author-link = John Frederick Nims |year = 1981 |title = The Harper Anthology of Poetry |publisher = Harper and Row |location = New York |isbn = 978-0-06-044846-2 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/harperanthologyo00nims }}</ref>

=== In culture ===
{{further|Birds in culture}}

[[Gilbert White]] studied the barn swallow in detail in his pioneering work ''[[The Natural History of Selborne]]'', but even this careful observer was uncertain whether it migrated or hibernated in winter.<ref name= white /> Elsewhere, its long journeys were well observed, and a [[Sailor tattoos#Experiences and achievements|swallow tattoo]] is traditional among sailors as a symbol of a safe return; the tradition was that a mariner had a tattoo of this fellow wanderer after sailing {{convert|5000|nmi|km|abbr=off}}. A second swallow would be added after {{convert|10000|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at sea.<ref name =mmbc>{{cite web |title=Hardtack and marlinspikes&nbsp;– life and work aboard ship |work=Sailors' tattoos post-visit activity, teachers' handout |url=http://mmbc.bc.ca/downloads/educational_materials/Tatoos/tattoo%20activity%20text.pdf |publisher=Maritime Museum of British Columbia |access-date=2007-12-01 |archive-date=16 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216073643/http://mmbc.bc.ca/downloads/educational_materials/Tatoos/tattoo%20activity%20text.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the past, the tolerance for this beneficial [[insectivore]] was reinforced by superstitions regarding damage to the barn swallow's nest. Such an act might lead to cows giving bloody milk, or no milk at all, or to hens ceasing to lay.<ref name="Cocker">{{cite book |last=Cocker |first=Mark |author2=Mabey, Richard |title=Birds Britannica |year=2005 |location=London |publisher=Chatto & Windus |isbn=978-0-7011-6907-7}}</ref> This may be a factor in the longevity of swallows' nests. Survival, with suitable annual refurbishment, for 10–15 years is regular, and one nest was reported to have been occupied for 48 years.<ref name="Cocker" />

It is depicted as the ''martlet'', ''merlette'' or ''merlot'' in [[heraldry]], where it represents younger sons who have no lands. It is also represented as lacking feet as this was a common belief at the time.<ref name = "Cooper92">{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=JC |title=Symbolic and Mythological Animals |pages=218–19 |year=1992 |publisher=Aquarian Press |location=London |isbn=978-1-85538-118-6}}</ref> As a result of a campaign by [[ornithology|ornithologists]], the barn swallow has been the national bird of Estonia since 23 June 1960, and is also the national bird of Austria.<ref name="Estonia">{{cite web |title=The State&nbsp;— Structure and Symbols |work=Estonia |url=http://www.estonia.gov.uk/estonia/state |publisher=Estonian Embassy in London |access-date=27 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115000710/http://www.estonia.gov.uk/estonia/state |archive-date=15 November 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name = Estonia2>{{cite web |title=National symbols of Estonia |url=http://www.einst.ee/publications/symbols/ |publisher=The Estonia Institute |access-date=27 November 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071109221700/http://www.einst.ee/publications/symbols/| archive-date= 9 November 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>