Birds singing before February.
Should the feathered songsters sing before February it is a sign of hard, ungenial weather. This applies particularly to the blackbird and throstle. The following lines embody this faith:—
Os cân yr adar cyn Chwefror, hwy griant cyn Mai.
If birds sing before February, they will cry before May.
Thus their early singing prognosticates a prolonged winter.—Bye-Gones, vol. i., p. 88.
Birds flocking in early Autumn.
When birds gather themselves together and form flocks in the early days of autumn, it is thought to foretell an early and severe winter.
On the other hand, should they separate in early spring, and again congregate in flocks, this shews that hard weather is to be expected, and that winter will rest on the lap of May.
Birds’ Feathers.
Feather beds should be made of domestic birds’ feathers, such as geese, ducks, and fowls. Wild fowl feathers should not be mixed with these feathers; for, otherwise, the sick will die hard, and thus the agony of their last moments will be prolonged.