Happened earlier today and still can't get my mind off it. He was such a beautiful bird. My partner Id'd the bird. violet-green swallow. So small and so beautiful...

Beautiful birds, in pairs, flying joyfully in the late spring. Darting by the sidewalks, by the store windows and one made a mistake of flying into a window. It tried to avoid it at the last second but it still hit the window fairly hard. Then it fell to the the concrete sidewalk. His partner flew by few times then flew away in matter of few seconds.

I felt so helpless. I went running over and carefully scooped him up in my hands to give him some warmth from my hand. It was bit chilly today. I was careful in handling him so as not to cause additional injury. Rapid breathing, twitching of legs and tail feathers...

Had the bird smacked the window and fell on grass or onto a bush, I think it would have survived. The collision into the glass wasn't that hard. no broken bones. But dazed and the 5' fall to the concrete caused the fatal injury. I think the bird hit his head on the concrete first.

Poor thing died while I was trying to get a direction to a avian wildlife sanctuary.

Just makes me so sad. One moment a beautiful healthy bird. Next moment dying in pain.

Events like this makes you realize the precious nature of life and how fleeting it can be.

And this evening, we saw a gorgeous and bright double rainbow out of our windows. I still feel really sad for the poor guy and his mate.

here is a picture of him from a bird web site: violet green swallow picture is pretty but still far short of what he looks in real life.

Be safe and peace to all,