Do wild animals predict the weather?

Question

In "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder Pa forsees a very bad winter when the water birds don't stop over in the lake on the way south and the rodents build dens with extra thick walls. The winter turns out to be very bad indeed (they nearly freeze and starve).

Do wild animals predict weather accurately like this? For what time periods? What behaviors predict the weather? Are there any theories about how they do it if so? What are they predicting now?

Additional Details

Ok, I'm not interested in the next few hours. I'm interested in longer range forecasts involving preparation for winter or changing migration patterns. If there is such a mechanism, how does it work?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

I suppose they do. Frogs start to croak when theres a storm coming. Probably the moisture

Answer 2

DUH! It's their natural instinct!

Answer 3

usually yes
but only the weather that will happen within the hour.
They cannot plan out the week ahead or anything.

Answer 4

Yes, its their biological version of our weather forcast. Correct me if I'm wrong, but an example of these are cockroaches and snakes. They are disturbed by certain vibrations from the ground which sometimes predicts an earthquake will happen.

-although this has entirely nothing to do with weathers

Answer 5

Well, why do birds start flying south when they find a hint that winter is on the way. I think animals are so much smarter than humans give them credit for. Although they do not have news TV channels like we do, to tell us exactly what weather we are having tomorrow (haha!) Think about it, they must have a sense of time, knowing when to start preparing for weather changes. Like if we did not have TV or papers to tell us the weather forecast, we would have the INSTINCT to go out and buy our winter coats. Well, those are a few of my thoughts about this topic, sorry I am not a professional zoologist!