Murmuration is the swarming aerial display performed by large flocks of starlings and other birds in the Sturnidae family, in which thousands of individuals wheel, dive, pulse, and change direction sharply together with no single visible leader. The word comes from the low, indistinct sound made by the wings of a dense flock in flight. Scientists believe the coordinated, seemingly unpredictable movement helps confuse and discourage predators such as falcons, giving the flock a form of collective protection.
Facts
PeriodicityNot periodic on a fixed cycle. A single murmuration event typically happens around dusk before roosting and can last from a few seconds up to about 45 minutes. 1 ScaleFlocks can range from a handful of birds to tens of thousands; the largest recorded events, in Denmark, are called the Black Sun and are estimated to involve about a million starlings. 1 First DescribedOrnithologist Edmund Selous made the first scientific study, proposing that flocks coordinated through what he called thought-transference, an idea later replaced by local-neighbor signaling models. 1 Phenomenon Kind Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceA dense flock of starlings wheeling, diving, pulsing and changing direction together in sudden, erratic bursts with no single visible leader. 1 Sources
1. Murmuration (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationMurmuration subsection
a simultaneously synchronized and seemingly random flock movement characterized by sudden, erratic direction changes without an observable leader
Murmuration subsection, opening definition
a simultaneously synchronized and seemingly random flock movement characterized by sudden, erratic direction changes without an observable leader
Murmuration subsection, Edmund Selous
Initial study by ornithologist Edmund Selous (1857-1934) sought to explain the murmuration of starlings through the idea of thought-transference.
Murmuration subsection, duration
Starling murmurations can last from a few seconds up to 45 minutes
Murmuration subsection, Denmark Black Sun
In Denmark, where murmurations have been estimated to involve a million starlings, the phenomenon is called the Black Sun, or Sort sol in Danish.
View the Source 2. Starling - Wikipedia
Lead sentenceQuote, Lead sentence
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine (perching) birds known for the often dark, glossy iridescent sheen of their plumage; their complex vocalizations including mimicking; and their distinctive, often elaborate swarming behavior, known as murmuration.
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