But I think @Shadrach has mentioned his theory that the wind affects their being able to hear everything well too.
But now that I think of it, I do know that wind speed will also affect songbirds' ability to forage - fly here and there, etc., and do their rounds. But I think that kind of wind is greater than just a breezy day. Of course the smaller birds are affected first with increasing wind speed. I think I read a study on that and what the wind speeds were for each type of bird... from ability to fly across fields, from tree to tree, fly/jump from branch to branch, to essentially being grounded / seeking shelter and not moving (sheltering in pine trees in the case of chickadees...)
But a breezy day would create more noise in general, so sound interference theoretically would be a problem for chickadees and songbirds. There is a whole system of warnings that get transmitted through forests. Chickadees keep their flock/tribe in contact with each other through peeps and whatnot as they forage, and they rely on this system too. I wonder if they also forage closer together and are more nervous on breezy days? The radio gets a lot of static...
Chickens need to hear each other and hear the other species around them. So it seems to me that in general chickens that have the genes or a predilection for more caution on windy days would have better chances to individually survive and thus their species to survive.
We had a terrible storm one afternoon ~ lots of wind & rain. Through the downpour there was this insistant tapping on the glass of a window. A little songbird was trapped against the glass by the wind & was begging to be let in. Eventually I felt so sorry for it, I brought it inside, dried it off & warmed it up before releasing it in a sheltered corner of the yard. Throughout this little bird showed no fear @ all, just gratitude for some temporary shelter.
