![]() ![]() Sandhill cranes are those types of birds that like to hang out in pairs or family groups much of the time, but during migration, these birds famously form large flocks between 400,000 and 600,000. ![]() This is called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep and it enables the bird to get some rest, whilst the other half of the brain is alert and the other eye is open, on guard.Ĭourtesy of Steve Garvie, Wikimedia Commons. ![]() The birds on the edge will be “half-asleep” that is, the side of their head that is inward facing will have a closed eye, and even that side of the brain will have slowed down functions. Computer mapping finally solved the mechanisms behind murmurations. You can observe this quite readily among any group of ducks at the water’s edge, where they appear to have arranged themselves in a tight circular group. One of the main advantages of flocking behaviour is to keep a lookout for predators. It is a remarkable display of working together for a common goal. Over time, the leader will tire, and the birds shift position, giving them a break. Likewise, the two birds behind them benefit from their wingbeats, and so on. And for that, we come to love it more deeply, and to amaze at the science of it all.The “leader”, usually the fittest bird in that family or species group, will be the head of the V, and the downdraft that their wings create provides uplift for the two birds behind it, positioned on either side at just the right spacing to take advantage of this turbulent air. Nature is full of immeasurable and uncountable art not attainable by human means. It might not be as graceful as a starling murmuration (or a large school of fish), but you can see the same science at work. Also, if you notice many birds of other species that are gathered in small flocks, you will see that when they fly, they have an interesting control of their combined flight patterns. In fact, if you have seen a school of fish, you would find that they exhibit the same manner of grace in swimming that the starlings produce in flight. In actuality, this is not a unique display of cohesion. The science is simple and demystifies the stunning vision of perfect flight. For any bird, if uncertainty arose as to direction, it immediately adjusted to the pattern of its closet seven pals in flight. Young, evaluated photos and videos from flocks of 440 to around 2,600 in size. With that, they are able to maintain a perfect flight pattern along with the entire flock. In 2012, a science paper published in 2012 concluded that any individual bird within the flying murmuration is perfectly in sync with only seven of its closest birds. Fortunately, science has studied just how the starlings achieve such perfection in flight by studying video and photo shots from those videos. Just how they are able to attain such symmetry in flight is the wonder. If you have seen this, then you know full well how mesmerizing it can be. The stand-apart beauty of these birds is in their majestic display of flying in concert as a flock. They appear to be resourceful and fully adaptable. Their current conservation status is Least Concern, indicating that there is little risk of their extinction. In the US, the starling populatio is thought to be approximately 200 million. They are a noisy bird, and hang in fairly large flocks (murmurations). Typically, a common starling is about 7.5” to 9” long, weighs about 2 to 3 ounces, all with a wingspan of approximately 12” to 17”. Currently, the starling is well-spread around the globe with enough physical changes to create more than 10 sub-species of the bird. The starling is officially referenced as the European Starling, so named after their place of origin. But how is it possible that these birds can be so in tune with each other to know the exact patterns that they fly in? Let’s explore. A murmuration is when a mass of starlings fly in a coordinated manner in what appears to be a moving black cloud. What is a murmuration?” Chances are, you’ve witnessed the startling grace and beauty of a murmuration of starlings. ![]()
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