The swiftlet differs from the barn swallow of traditional Chinese poetry that one sees flying around carved pillars or people's homes. The barn swallow is more at ease around human beings; it enjoys coming to the ground to scrounge for mud, then flies back up to the eaves or rafters of a house to build its nest.
雨燕與中國古詩詞中穿梭於雕樑畫棟、珠簾繡戶的家燕不同，家燕與人類親近，喜停棲地面撿銜泥團，飛回屋簷、樑上築巢。