Dear Grackle,
When you used to serenade us in the El Paso Valley in August, we used to refer to you as a “rain crow” because your song usually preceded a thunderstorm. How were you able to predict the weather better than the weathermen?
Thanks,
Larry Allen
Dear Larry,
THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENT! HUMAN SCIENTISTS HAVEN’T DONE MUCH WORK ON GRACKLES PREDICTING STORMS, SO I CAN’T GIVE YOU A PRECISE ANSWER IN YOUR TERMS. ANECDOTALLY, PEOPLE HAVE KNOWN FOR YEARS THAT ANIMALS CAN SENSE UPCOMING WEATHER. ZOOKEEPERS REPORT THAT THE CREATURES PACE THEIR CAGES AHEAD OF A STORM, AND FROGS HAVE BEEN OBSERVED CROAKING LOUDLY BEFORE RAIN. ANOTHER BIRD OFTEN CALLED A “RAIN CROW” IS THE YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, WHICH CALLS ON HOT DAYS, OFTEN HERALDING THE ARRIVAL OF A THUNDERSTORM. STORMS CREATE CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE, ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE AND OTHER VARIABLES, SO IT’S DIFFICULT TO PARSE EXACTLY WHAT BIRDS AND OTHER ANIMALS MAY SENSE THAT HUMAN METEOROLOGISTS CAN’T.
A 2015 PAPER PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL CURRENT BIOLOGY ON GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLERS IN TENNESSEE REVEALED THE BIRDS FLYING 932 MILES OUT OF THEIR WAY, EVIDENTLY TO AVOID A DANGEROUS STORM SYSTEM THAT SPAWNED 85 TORNADOS AND KILLED 35 PEOPLE. ONE OF THE RESEARCHERS, HENRY STREBY, SUGGESTED THAT “INFRASOUND,” OR LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES GENERATED BY THE STORM SYSTEM, COULD HAVE SIGNALED THE BIRDS TO GET OUT OF THE WAY. THESE SOUNDS HAVE A FREQUENCY LESS THAN 20 HZ, AND CAN’T BE HEARD BY THE HUMAN EAR.
I KNOW YOU HUMANS CELEBRATE GROUNDHOG DAY IN FEBRUARY, WHERE YOU LET A GROUNDHOG PREDICT THE LENGTH OF YOUR WINTER. THIS IS ALL MAKING ME PONDER WHETHER WE SHOULD GET A “GRACKLE DAY” ON THE CALENDAR. MAYBE EVERY DAY SHOULD BE GRACKLE DAY. JUST A SUGGESTION…
YOURS,
Grackle
Have a question for the grackle? Email us at magazine@tpwd.texas.gov and we will pass it along to our avian adviser. The grackle's opinions are its own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
