Bird behaviour is affected by atmospheric pressure, the brightness of the sun, and variations in electrical potential. When the weather is nice, the familiar small bird, the finch (Eurasian chaffinch), sings joyfully, but "cries" when it rains. If the skylark sings long and loudly, nice weather will follow.
Cowbirds and crows appearing and cawing near buildings signify rain, and in fall and winter - snow. Sparrows congregate in groups and breed on the sand when it rains. The woodpecker begins and ends scratching later than normal on gloomy, foggy mornings. If it is a sunny morning and the weather remains sunny, the rubbing of the wood grouse will not be heard; nevertheless, rubbing of the wood grouse in wet weather signals that the weather is improving.
The spider is an excellent weather forecaster. You can precisely anticipate the weather by studying the spider's behaviour. It will rain if the spider remains shrunken in the middle of the web and does not leave the woven web, but it will be fine if it exits the nest and the wheeled web. We don't feel the rise in humidity in the atmosphere since the weather is still sunny, but it's already pouring for the spiders. Similarly, flies and wasps strive to enter the apartment or automobile because of the terrible weather.
The nettle butterfly (Venessa urticae L) is a good predictor of thunderstorms: if the nettle butterfly hunts for a leeward area in sunny weather, crawls into tree hollows, or hides in heaps of dry grass or branches, there will be a rainstorm in a few hours.
In this regard, I'd like to recollect a historical example. While out on a walk, the prominent physicist I. Newton encountered a shepherd, who encouraged the scientist to return home. Newton did not comply and instead continued walking. He was wet to the skin after half an hour and came home. The scientist then questioned the shepherd how he had anticipated the impending rain so correctly. "The sheep helped me because their wool gets wet before it rains," the shepherd explained.
Observations of animal behaviour give a plethora of information for forecasting natural occurrences. Here are a couple such instances. Cold rain (with snow) ruffles the feathers of birds. Wind will blow from whatever side the animal is resting on its back. There will be no rain if the bees are not hiding in their hives when the clouds approach. The crow sits facing the wind and caws loudly, indicating that it will rain (in the summer) or snow (in the winter).
Cows limit milk production before it rains. It will rain for a long time if the chickens do not hide in the rain. Similarly, rain is predicted if hens hop on the top steps of an anvil or on taller items in the garden. If cows graze grass avidly in the evening, rain is forecast for the following day. In the evening, a crow crows to change the weather.
It is critical to notice a collection of features from the behaviour of fish, birds, domestic animals, and plants during the period of observation when forecasting the weather. A shift in the weather is unmistakable if ten observations coincide. When bad weather is forecast, for example, the black woodpecker becomes restless, swallows fly low, sparrows gather in large flocks on fences and trees and chirp continuously, the bullfinch chirps, cries, the frog croaks continuously, bees do not fly, earthworms appear above ground, and winged ants are visible.
