After the nesting and breeding seasons of spring and summer have passed, starlings become highly social birds, often gathering in flocks that number in the thousands. These flocks sometimes take the form of a murmuration—when the birds form a group large and dense enough that they appear to move together as a single organism, even if the movements seem arbitrary. Though scientists still don"t quite understand how the individual starlings in a murmuration coordinate their tight, fluid formations, the behavior is thought to be a way to confuse predators.
Moving as one
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Antarctica Day
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A plot was afoot
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Venture into a prehistoric gallery of art
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Bobbio, Italy
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Is that a buzzing sound?
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Mount Segla, Senja Island, Norway
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National Lighthouse Day
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Discovery Day in Yukon, Canada
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The lemurs of Madagascar
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The moon rises for Mid-Autumn Festival
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Field of Light at Sensorio by Bruce Munro
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Ponta da Piedade rock formations in Portugal
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Summer solstice
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Whales in winter
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Does this chameleon look a little insecure?
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Where is this wintry road?
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Silvereyes in South Korea
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Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, Bavaria, Germany
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The forecast calls for blooms
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The Canary Islands, Spain
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Christmas comes to New York City
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Happy Boxing Day!
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Maybe we should be looking up
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The Cathedral of Florence, Italy
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Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!
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Women s History Month
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I ll call for pen and ink
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A cliffside harbor in Sardinia
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The long and wiggling path
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International Lighthouse Weekend