Why is there the "saying" this weather is for the birds?? Birds hide when the weather is cold and rainy.

Question

Why is there the "saying" this weather is for the birds?? Birds hide when the weather is cold and rainy.

Answer 1

isnt it ducks?

Answer 2

I don't actually believe it has much to do with the weather, though a similar phrase (this weather is for the ducks) is employed after heavy rainfall to imply that it has rained so heavily the ducks could swim across previously dry patches of ground.

The phrase "For the birds" is a little more liberal and was first employed by J D Salinger in Catcher in the Rye and actually relates to birds eating droppings from horses and the like (and, basically, means: What a load of horse**** / nonsense").