On a day I spent watching birds sing, from yellow-headed and red-winged blackbirds to song sparrows and marsh wrens, this little barn swallow was the only one not singing. It may look like it with its mouth agape, but it had been swarming over the lake hunting insects with the rest of the barn and tree swallows.

It landed on the cattail for just a moment while I happened to be driving by. It opened its mouth wide a couple of times, preened a few feathers, and then took to the skies once more.