It must be June because there it goes. A busy bird swoops over the field, dipping and weaving in flight. It’s wearing a royal blue swallow-tailed coat and ruddy vest, and it’s scissoring through the air on an endless quest for insects.

That stylish-looking bird is a simple barn swallow. It’s a homey name for an elegant bird, but the name suits this companion of rural farms and open spaces.

Even crowded cities host the barn swallow. In fact, city parks are a great place to watch them, especially at this time of year when they are feeding the nest full of babies that fledge in June. As the fledglings leave the nest, watch mom and dad feeding them on the wing in mid-air.

Although they have no need for nest boxes or bird feeders, barn swallows are true companions to humans. They nest near or on houses and they will reuse a site as long as it has proven to be successful.

There’s no formal bird feeding necessary either, unless you characterize mowing the grass as feeding. The birds will follow us across wide lawns to catch the bugs we stir up while mowing. A little water, plenty of open space and the frugal use of pesticides may bring them to the neighborhood.

The barn swallow is easily recognizable the world over. In fact it’s the most widespread swallow in the world, residing or migrating through nearly every continent. Art and poetry from around the world celebrate their beauty, and we can rejoice in the barn swallow as a herald of summer.