Swallow tattoo ideas

I am designing a tattoo for a friend's 30th. She is keen on a swallow: somewhere in between the old school sailor-style swallow tattoo and something more illustrative. I want to keep away from the rockabilly look that a lot os swallow tatts have, they're sweet and all but not very individual. I like the idea of incorporating some foliage, maybe cherry blossom? to give it a more natural feel. The swallow seems to turn up quite often in chinese and japanese brush paintings but it's a bastard finding any reference...