My friend David Haskell asked his students on their Ornithology final, “If you could come back as a bird, which species would you choose and why?”   As I responded in the Comments section of his blog, my choice would be Hirundo Rustica, the barn swallow.  I’ve long admired their sleek appearance and graceful flight, and I’m not alone in that.  The Spring Fresco at Thera dates back to 1500 BC:

A close-up of the swallows– aren’t they sweet?

I didn’t know this until just now when searching, but the Spring Fresco features in the Disney movie Hercules, on the wall in the home where  the hero grew up.  Who knew the animators were so learned?