The London Weather Station

We all know about the old weather predicting frog. But can you actually predict the weather by studying the behavior of an animal?

Here is some stuff I have found on the internet on the subject:

In the USA, a groundhog is still used to predict the weather for up to six weeks in advance. If you see the groundhog's shadow at noon on the 2nd of February, (Groundhog's Day) then the weather will be cold and wintry for another six weeks.

Apparently, there is also a saying that dogs and cats act nervous and when a bad storm is on the way?

Here are some other examples of behavior that is supposed to predict the imminence of bad weather and my attempted explanations thereafter:

• Frogs croak louder and longer than usual (Hmm – they share the fact that it will rain? They like rain?).
• Roosters crow later in the day (It is darker so they wake up later?).
• Birds fly lower to the ground and gather on tree branches and telephone wires (They are trying to avoid being hit by lighting – or do the insect’s maybe fly lower? ;) – Sitting on branches seems silly from an evolutionary point – we are told not to stand below trees in a storm.).
• Pigs squeal more and gather sticks to make a nest (Maybe they are excited that there will be more mud soon? I really do not know why they would gather sticks…).
• Cows lay down in the fields to feed ( If they stand up they are more likely to be hit by lightning and maybe they lay down to ensure they have a dry spot to lie?). Cows also run around the field with their tails raised high - swatting flies before a storm (The flies might be in a feeding frenzy because they are worried that they might not eat for a while during the storm?).
• Bees and butterflies seem to disappear from the flower beds they usually visit (They cannot fly in rain so they have found a safe place to hide.).
  - Red and black ants build up their mounds around the holes, and may actually cover the hole (They dislike flooding.).
• Fish jump out of the water and nip at low flying insects (The insect are flying low so they don’t fall far if they are hit by a raindrop. – or it might be the different air pressure…).
• So maybe our friend the frog is also interested in climbing higher when the weather is better because this is where the insects are?

What do you think? Do you agree? Well I thought that was a quite entertaining exercise… :)