When I saw the pile of bird dropping in the pole barn, I knew to look up. And there they were, a couple of baby barn swallows peeking out of the nest. This one didn’t stay long but surprised me by swooping down out of the nest and hovering just outside the barn, before flying away.
Forget the Pyramids of Giza! I want to know how a creature with a beak and two wings can construct a grass and mud nest like that and affix it with avian cement to the beam wall. How do they know what dimensions to use? How do they know what weight it will hold? How long did it take to put together? Was it a one- or two-bird job? Do they reuse it next year, or rebuild? We humans take higher-education classes to learn and determine all this stuff while these little architect / engineer parental birds just pull it out of their feathers. Anyone insulting someone as being a “bird brain” likely has no idea what a compliment they’re giving!
Good point about the Bird Brain Amy. I’m so intrigued by all those questions too. I do know the swallows come back and reuse the nest, repairing it and freshening it up. But I too wonder how they make mud and grass stick to the wooden beams.
Awwwww…his sweet little face looks so wordly and wise already.