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In certain cases, yes. In fact, the flight height of swallows is guided by appetite: they go where there are more insects, their favorite dish. It turns out that the rain really influences the displacement of the meal of these birds. “When the storm is three or four kilometers away, a current of warm, humid air pushes the insects upwards, taking the birds to the upper layers,” says ornithologist (bird specialist) Johan Dalgas Frisch, author of the book Brazilian birds. Shortly before the first rain showers, however, the currents decrease and the insects are concentrated close to the ground.
At this time, the low-altitude feast is even more attractive for the swallow-eaters because, during the summer, termites and winged ants sense climate change and come out to start the mating flight. “For these insects, this is the ideal time for reproduction, because the incoming rainwater will soften the earth and facilitate nest building,” says Frisch. The swallows’ appetite is insatiable: some devour more than 2,000 insects a day. Such hunger leads certain species – such as the blue swallow – to migrate 24,000 kilometers to escape the lack of food during the winter in North America. From December to February, more than 100 million of these birds take advantage of the heat and abundance of insects in Brazil. In addition, they give a stray in the weather forecast.