I haven't experienced an eclipse first hand, so can't say for certain, but what I have heard from friends is that animals, birds and insects behave like it is night time; the birds stop singing and go to roost, the insects quiet down. They just respond to the darkness. According to this page

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/h...l_eclipse/417460.stm

some farm animals just went quiet like they were going to sleep.

However, I just saw a paper that said ground squirrels did not go into their burrows during the solar eclipse in 1999 (although they did when it started to rain). So maybe not all animals care.

There is some folklore that animals can know when an eclipse is coming, but during the hour or so before a total eclipse the temperature drops slowly, so it could be that any strange behavior is just because it is getting slowly colder and darker.

I have been to 7 total eclipses and have seen a number of animal reactions. The birds think it's nighttime and start to roost, even if it's noontime. The most interesting reaction to me was the 1998 eclipse when we were on a cruise. The dolphins came up to the surface to see what what happening!

In a partial solar eclipse I was at school, watching outside with a bunch of students (I'm a teacher). Near the maximum coverage, I dashed inside to bring the principal out to enjoy the show. But he couldn't come, because the whole group of students in the cafeteria had erupted into a fight...very unusual behavior for our school, with very curious timing.