Today's Bird: The Blue and White Swallow

Swallows are kind of like day-time bats.  They swoop around and catch bugs.  It's not very often that you catch one sitting down like this.  Usually, they're zipping past you at a zillion miles an hour, twisting and turning as they go. 

This is a Blue-and-White Swallow, another South American bird with a super-long name.  At least it's an accurate description.  For me the most interesting thing about the swallows was where I saw them.  The bird species are layered throughout the different tiers of elevation and one species replaces another.   Blue and White Swallows are extremely common, but once you pass about 4,300 meters, they're replaced by Andean Swallows, their highland cousins.

I took this photo just outside downtown Aguas Calientes (the town you go to on your way to Machu Piccu) on June 18, 2012.