Animals have a reputation as weather prophets--if their prophecies
strike the human observer as somewhat obvious. The cat washes her
face, and this is commonly held to be a sign of coming rain; in
summer it is thought to be a sign of a thunder-storm when cats are
remarkably lively. Dogs sometimes bury their bones when rain is in the
air--perhaps an inherited instinct to save food against days of bad
hunting. Horses by stretching their necks and sniffing the air seem
to be scenting distant rain; and donkeys have a way of braying before
the storm. Shepherds hold that if sheep turn their tails windward rain
will come; and cowherds read the same prophecy when a herd of cows
gathers at one end of a pasture, their tails to the wind. Changes in
weather mean much to wild life, and we are prepared to believe they are
forewarned. A storm may mean the loss of a meal to a fox, a ruined nest
to a bird, an end of all things to an insect. The fox has done well
that has eaten heartily before the storm. Yet it appears that a change
of weather must be near at hand before wild creatures take notice.
The pheasant crows before the thunder-storm because he hears distant
thunder. The wheatear, a bird nervous of clouds, flies to shelter as
the cloud drives up. It is the first touch of cold weather that sets
squirrels hiding nuts.
Weather has a marked effect on the moods of wild creatures. There are
days when hares or partridges seem overcome by oppression; they move
listlessly if disturbed, and lie or sit about as though all energy
had gone from them. Thunder in the air may be the cause, or perhaps
snow is coming; when the storm has blown over, liveliness is restored,
and new life inspires all things. Before a storm, partridges in the
stubble-fields set up their feathers, and in cold weather the feathers
of many birds have the appearance of being puffed out, so that they
look almost twice their usual size. Many creatures feed at an unusually
early hour if storms are coming. It is a bad sign when rabbits are out
feeding in the fields early on a bright sunshiny afternoon. The birds
of the open fields--rooks, starlings, pigeons, or fieldfares--feed
hungrily and hastily while rain-clouds overshadow the sky; but it
is a sign of good weather when rooks fly to feed far from their
roosting-trees, and fly high. Cock pheasants will go to roost early
before the storm, choosing low branches, and trees that afford good
protection. In bitter weather, even the warm feathers of birds may
become ice-bound.
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