Since ancient times, swallows have been harbingers of bad weather. Looking at their behavior, people could easily determine whether today's day will be rainy or sunny. Moreover, the accuracy of their "predictions" could be no doubt. In this regard, inquiring minds have long been asked a logical question: why do swallows fly low before the rain?
For a long time, the answer to this question eluded scientists. Years passed, and modern science still found a worthy explanation for this phenomenon. But let's talk about everything in order.
Forecasts in the old days
Thanks to the achievements of progress today, a person can easily find out the weather forecast on the Internet or in the news. But it was not always like that. In the old days, one could learn about the vagaries of nature only by closely watching its prompts. By the way, our ancestors did it very well.
Thanks to such observations, the world saw many folk signs. In particular, that before the rain, the swallows begin to circle very low above the ground. At the same time, the accuracy of such an observation turned out to be very high, as a result of omen, it became one of the most famous in our area. But, despite this, the Slavs could not understand why the swallows fly low before the rain?
Vain search for an answer by scientists
Resolving this curious question, scientists took up. Indeed, despite the fact that folk signs belong to the section of folklore, yet many of them have a scientific basis. So, naturalists began furiously looking for the answer to the question: “Why do swallows fly low before the rain?”
Initially, scientists believed that swallows feel changes in the atmosphere, so they "predict" the weather. However, if this was true, then why did the flying swallow descend so low to the ground? Shouldn't she have been hiding from the approaching bad weather in her nest?
In general, as often happens, attempts to find the answer only increased the number of new puzzles. And then one day the truth was revealed to scientists. And, as it turned out, the truth was completely unlike what the researchers were looking for so long.
Rain and insects
I would like to make a small digression and talk a little about insects. More precisely, about how they are affected by the approach of rain and increased moisture in the air. Indeed, it is precisely in their behavior that the clue to the behavior of nimble swallows lies.
So, the approach of rain is accompanied by an increase in atmospheric pressure. And if for us such a phenomenon is not too noticeable (although weather-dependent people can argue with this statement), for insects this means significant changes. In particular, the force of the atmosphere seems to press them to the ground.
After the pressure rises, the air begins to soak in tiny droplets of water. Such moisture quickly settles on the wings and bodies of insects, thereby increasing their weight. And they can no longer fly fast, much less rise high above the ground. Therefore, the only thing left for them is to circle above the surface in search of refuge.
Why do swallows fly low before the rain?
Well, the time has come to answer this question. As it turned out, the reason for everything is the brutal appetite of these birds. It just so happened that eating swallows is an almost continuous process to which they devote most of their day.
And since their favorite food begins to circulate near the ground with the approach of rain, they have no choice but to follow it. And so it turns out that the main "meteorologists" are not the swallows themselves, but ... insects. But how did it happen that all the laurels went to the swallows?
The essence of the problem is that most insects are tiny. Therefore, people simply did not notice them, therefore, they could not draw a logical parallel. A completely different matter is swallows, which are difficult to overlook. And yet, be that as it may, the fact remains: if the swallows fly low above the ground - it will rain.