A white pigeon is a bird of ill omen, and if after hovering about it alights on a house it is a token of the death of one of the inmates.
A hen crowing is a sign of death.
When swallows fly low it foretells rain.
The cuckoo comes in May. In June he changes his tune. In July he goes away. In August away he must, for a cuckoo in September nobody can remember.
It is said woodlarks are never found in Northamptonshire.
Larks rising very high and singing for a long time is a sign of fine weather.
Kites flying aloft betokens fine weather.
Peacock's feathers, even now, are considered to bring bad luck into a house.
When you see a heron flying the first time in the year put the tips of your right thumb and the finger nearest the thumb together and form a ring. Then wish and at the same time spit through the opening, and if the spittle does not touch the hand the wish comes to pass. This, I believe, is a strictly local custom, as there is a heronry in Milton Park, about three miles from Peterborough.