A mystery of nature:
No one knows why they do it. Yet each fall, thousands of starlings dance in the
twilight above England and Scotland. The birds gather in shape-shifting flocks
called murmurations, having migrated in the millions from Russia and Scandinavia
to escape winter�s frigid bite. Scientists aren't sure how they do it, either.
The murmurations are manifestations of swarm intelligence, which in different
contexts is practised by schools of fish, swarms of bees and colonies of ants.
As far as I am aware, even complex algorithmic models haven't yet explained the
starlings' aerobatics, which rely on the tiny birds' quicksilver reaction time
of under 100 milliseconds to avoid aerial collisions and predators in the giant
flock.
Despite their tour de force in the dusky sky, starlings have declined
significantly in the UK in recent years, perhaps because of a decline in
suitable nesting sites. The birds still roost in several of Britain's rural
pastures, however, settling down to sleep (and chatter) after their evening
ballet.
Two young ladies were out for a late afternoon canoe ride, and fortunately one
of them had remembered to bring her video camera. What they saw was a wonderful
murmuration display, caught in the short video whose URL is below. Watch the
variation of colour and intensity of the patterns that the birds make in close
proximity to one other. And take a look at the girl in the bow of the canoe
watching the aerial display. Enjoy.
Video following
No one knows why they do it. Yet each fall, thousands of starlings dance in the
twilight above England and Scotland. The birds gather in shape-shifting flocks
called murmurations, having migrated in the millions from Russia and Scandinavia
to escape winter�s frigid bite. Scientists aren't sure how they do it, either.
The murmurations are manifestations of swarm intelligence, which in different
contexts is practised by schools of fish, swarms of bees and colonies of ants.
As far as I am aware, even complex algorithmic models haven't yet explained the
starlings' aerobatics, which rely on the tiny birds' quicksilver reaction time
of under 100 milliseconds to avoid aerial collisions and predators in the giant
flock.
Despite their tour de force in the dusky sky, starlings have declined
significantly in the UK in recent years, perhaps because of a decline in
suitable nesting sites. The birds still roost in several of Britain's rural
pastures, however, settling down to sleep (and chatter) after their evening
ballet.
Two young ladies were out for a late afternoon canoe ride, and fortunately one
of them had remembered to bring her video camera. What they saw was a wonderful
murmuration display, caught in the short video whose URL is below. Watch the
variation of colour and intensity of the patterns that the birds make in close
proximity to one other. And take a look at the girl in the bow of the canoe
watching the aerial display. Enjoy.
Video following
