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With its distinctive forked tail, the swallow is an easily-identifiable garden bird.Swallows leave their wintering grounds in southern Africa at around the same time each early spring and this is probably triggered by changes in hours of daylight.

Swallows have an incredible ability to stop in their tracks using their long tail. They open their wings and tails out to give themselves maximum braking power and this means that they can squeeze through a narrow space before braking suddenly on the nest.

You will occasionally see swallows perching on rooftops and branches, but they prefer overhead wires where, in late summer, you can see dozens gathering together in preparation for the return flight to southern Africa. They are perching birds, so their feet are adapted for grasping thin twigs and wires.

Swallows are supreme fliers and spend most of their lives chasing insects high up in the sky.