CONCERNING WEATHER SIGNS, 51-53 



weather. Light l clouds in winter are a sign of fine 

 weather. It is a sign of fine weather when Olympus 

 Athos and in general the mountains which give signs 

 have their tops 2 clear : so too is it, when clouds 

 encompass them at the sea-level. 3 Also when after 

 rain the clouds have a bronze colour towards sun- 

 down : in that case there will generally be fine 

 weather the next day. 



When there is mist, little or no rain follows. 

 When cranes 4 take flight and do not come back, it 

 is a sign of fair weather : for they do not do so till 

 they see a clear sky before them as they fly. It is a 

 sign of fair weather when during a storm 5 an owl 

 makes a low hoot, or at night during a storm it 

 utters a low sound. If the sea-owl utters its note 

 during a storm, it indicates fair weather, if during 

 fair weather, it indicates a storm. It is a sign ot 

 fair weather if a solitary raven makes a low croak, 

 and, after croaking three times, repeats the sound 

 again and again. . . . 6 



If the crow caws thrice directly the dawn appears, 

 it indicates fair weather, as also if it makes a low 

 note in the evening during a storm. It is a sign of 

 fair weather if a goldcrest flies out abroad from a 

 hole or from a hedge or from its nest. Again, if 

 during a storm from the north there is a white 

 gleam from that quarter, while in the south a solid 

 mass of cloud has formed, it generally signifies a 

 change to fair weather. Again when the north 

 wind (Boreas) as it begins to blow violently stirs up 

 a number of clouds, it indicates fair weather. 



6 I have marked a lacuna : the answer to fj.'kv is missing, 

 presumably a statement about the significance of more than 

 one raven, cf. \ r erg. Geory. 1. 410. 



429 



