How do birds survive storms and other harsh weather?

[PhysOrg]

Survival in the wild, cruel, pitiless world is a tenuous thing. There are predators trying to eat you, pathogens trying to infect you, rivals trying to beat you. It is truly, as Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, "Nature, red in tooth and claw." Added to this list of potentially mortal dangers is inclement weather. Severe storms can kill many animals, and birds are no exception. But clearly birds can survive these storms, or else there would be few birds left. Even the hard winter we just experienced has been followed by an eruption of song from our feathered friends. So how do they do it?

 

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