A Murmuration of Starlings

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Kristin von Kreisler
 I have two videos I can hardly wait for you to watch.  Wildlife cameraman and travel journalist Dylan Winter made the first one as he was sailing around the U.K. in an 18-foot boat; and the video shows a murmuration of starlings.  In case you’ve never heard of a murmuration, as I had not, it’s the starlings’ personal noun for “flock.”  Just as crows come together in murders and owls in parliaments, starlings gather in murmurations usually right before dusk and search for their evening roost.
The flock of starlings in this video is thrilling because there are thousands of them — darting, bobbing, swooping, rising, and zigzagging like a perfectly choreographed dance troupe.  One at a time, birds take turns leading, and the others follow.  The miracle – and mystery – is that the starlings never bump into each other even though they change direction in less than 100 milliseconds and they’re flying at 20 miles an hour.

Biologists say that the starlings fly in a murmuration to protect themselves from predators, whose heads would spin if they got mixed up in all those birds.  Mathematicians say that equations describing the flock patterns are similar to those describing crystal formation and avalanches, meaning they all can change in a finger snap, as starling mumurations do when gliding and swooping away from an eagle.

I say the birds are a glory of our cosmos.  They look like they’re dancing with joy at being alive.  The murmuration video inspires chill bumps.  And so might the next one I want you to see, showing Damar, a pet starling, “murmuring” and making clear how flocks of his brothers got their name.  As you listen to Damar, you’ll feel like you’re eavesdropping on people mumbling in a foreign language in a distant room.  The murmurs are amazing.  Here they are.  Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/GtQCHD1TuHo

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10 Responses to A Murmuration of Starlings

  1. Suzanne H. Kerr says:
    November 12, 2011 at 3:41 pm

    The videos of the starlings are the most amazing things I’ve seen and heard in years. Many thanks for sharing. What a gift!

    Reply
  2. Kristin von Kreisler says:
    November 12, 2011 at 6:24 pm

    I’m glad you enjoyed the videos! More wonders of the world around us.

    Reply
  3. Grant Hayter-Menzies says:
    November 12, 2011 at 7:38 pm

    Thank you for sharing this glory with us, Kristin!

    Reply
  4. Linda Brandenburg says:
    November 13, 2011 at 12:04 am

    I have never heard anything like Darmur. How amazing to capture one Starling’s voice and to hear something so familiar to thousands of birds but foreign to we humans.
    Jeff and I both were amazed by the murmuration video. We could totally relate to the girl at the end with her awe struck giggling. Wow. Thank you Kristin!!!

    Reply

  5. Pingback: “Murmuration” is…what?? It’s pretty cool actually, and birds do it by the thousands « A TowDog

  6. Gisele says:
    November 13, 2011 at 8:51 pm

    Awesome to watch the starling formations and to hear the range of one Starling’s voice who certainly had a lot to say! Thanks so much for lifting me up into the grandeur of nature.

    Reply
  7. Kristin von Kreisler says:
    November 14, 2011 at 6:48 pm

    You are welcome. And I really like thinking of Damar having a lot to say!

    Reply

  8. Pingback: A murmuration of starlings « white pebble

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