Article: "Starling murmurations are dazzling, ubiquitous, and puzzling"
Today I’ve
read article: "Starling murmurations are dazzling, ubiquitous, and
puzzling" by Diana Marques and Kennedy Elliott. Birds murmurations are commonly
known as defense against predators. But it’s
not that simple to explain because these massive flocks can also attract attackers
so it’s a real mystery why birds are doing this. Also when predator is starting
to hunt flock then birds are making an escape
maneuvers. What’s interesting it’s also that in a murmuration is no leader. To stay
united, each bird mimics behavior of his seven neighbors. That is why they can
adapt quickly even under pressure.
I always
thought that looks funny seeing this cloud
looking groups but I’ve never thought why
birds are making this weird performances.
Now it’s very interesting but at the same time really confusing trying to explain flocks behavior.
Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/graphic-starling-murmurations-dazzling-ubiquitous-puzzling?fbclid=IwAR3ZfIKTZ3ILEWbis-8NKM2bi3F84TIuuQp_UfMSJpNWH68qqII5nt9I4iU
A friend of mind spends hours observing starlings that sit on a tree in front of his house and from time to time take off in a group without any apparent reason, just to return after a minute or two of flight. It's a spectacular sight, particularly in autumn, when there are no leaves and you can watch the whole process.
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