Where do birds go when it rains?

Source: British Library

It's a question everyone has asked at some point. When it rains, why are there no birds? Chickens of course return to their coops, so it would be reasonable to assume that wild birds return to their nests. But, if you ask anyone, no one has ever seen birds in their nest in the rain, almost as if they have disappeared. The learned men and women of the world have not reached a consensus on what causes this phenomenon. The radical view is that people simply do not see the nests because they themselves are too self-absorbed in staying dry to notice them. The vast majority of scholars, however, believe something more foundational is occurring.

Rain, as everyone knows, is the regular attempts of the god of the seas to flood the world and usurp control from the Earthmother, out of spite. Ducks, seagulls and pelicans are known agents of Oceanus. Other birds are believed to be distant cousins to the gulls, and as such carry inside themselves a small portion of the seas' power. Therefore, it stands to reason that rain is a direct result of birds taking flight into the clouds above and transforming themselves into rainwater, desperate to merge with the sea. 

Why then, do the rains stop after some time? This, too, is easily explained. Though they may carry an ancestral bond with their creator, Oceanus, birds prosper most while inland. "The early bird gets the worm" is a common expression amongst the farmers of The Continent, referring directly to the benefits one reaps when working the earth before sunrise. The reason rain stops and the world does not flood in its entirety is a conscious act by the terrestrial birds; rain draws worms to the surface of the soil, allowing the birds to gorge themselves and feed their young. A side effect of this avian self-interest is the creation of fertile farmlands and rivers essential for Humans and Ratlings to survive and thrive. It should not a be surprise that some villages venerate birds for their vital role in the continued well-being of crops.

Detractors from this mainstream stance argue that birds do not carry the necessary intelligence to organize such coordinated displays of restraint. To them, I reply that it was not until recently that it was discovered that coal was not full of fire spirits, but instead attracted them; science marches forward daily and mysteries are solved every year. A century ago it would have been thought impossible to treaty with the Dryads, and yet now they are a staunch ally of Evergreen. Is it impossible that birds do not in fact cause rain? I cannot make such a claim, but I strongly caution against assuming the negative until evidence presents itself to raise such doubts.

-Professor Henry Droop, Professor of Weatherology at the Natural-Industrial Society University of Port City (NSUP)