BIRDS AS BAROMETERS

Evening Star, Issue 22031, 17 May 1935, Page 14

BIRDS AS BAROMETERS

HINTS FOR WEATHER STUDENTS A batometer is unnecessary to the observer of birds. They are the best of weather forecasters, and it is strange that more scientific use is not made or their uncannily accurate foresight. Probably the most familiar weather prophet is the swallow. It flies high in good weather, and low when unsettled conditions prevail. Actually, it is following its food supply; the insects mount high in a clear atmosphere, but skim the grounds in cloudy weather. Seagulls and petrels only approach land in bad weather. The well-known cpuplet says: Seagull, seagull, sit on the sand, It’s always foul weather when you come to land. Tho seagulls come first with their high, shrill piping,' followed by the “ mare’s tail clouds,” and then the rain. As soon as fho weather settles, off they go to sea again. ; Many birds call more loudly before rain. The song of a thrush is particularly noticeable before a gale. Wild ducks fly in larger convoys before rains, and starlings, beforp intense cold, presumably owing tofcieir partiality to mass roosting. Thousands of birds will roost on a single tree, and _ these huge flights may be in preparation for this final flight. It is intensely interesting to study the habits of birds, a hobby full of much pleasure, and profit, too.