Hey, Were You Raised in a Barn?

My niece, Carolyn, emailed me this picture of a bird's nest that is in one of her father's out buildings.  She was wondering if I knew what kind of bird made it.  Since I haven't seen the adult, I'm not sure, but from the looks of it - mud and grass and twigs, I'd say it is a barn swallow.  The nests I saw pictured on the internet were almost identical to the one here, 

Like many other birds, they build nests that are quite secure from snakes, cats, and other predators.

The barn swallow, Hirundo rustica,  is a beautiful, streamlined bird with a long forked tail.  They are built for fast, quick-turning maneuvers in order to catch flying insects.  Since they are flying insect  catchers, they are very valuable to us.

The barn swallow is the national bird of Austria.  Somehow I thought the cuckoo might be.