Of course, birds moving in flocks is not a new behavior, and ornithologists have long studied it. (Learn more about the epic journeys of migrating birds.) During this time, starlings may venture up to 60 miles a day from their roosting trees to feast on seeds, bugs, and larvae, then come back together to create murmurations that can last as long as 45 minutes. In the Northern Hemisphere, murmurations begin in fall and winter as the birds take rest stops of up to six weeks on their southern migrations. Though starlings can be a nuisance and a threat to native birds, their murmurations are breathtaking spectacles that often draw crowds to watch. In the late 1890s, a group of Shakespeare enthusiasts released about a hundred European starlings into New York City’s Central Park, hoping to populate the area with every bird mentioned in the playwright’s works. Native to the United Kingdom as well as Europe, starlings have become invasive species throughout the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, South Africa, and many other countries where, over centuries, they were introduced either by accident or on purpose. The term is unique to European, or common starlings, one of the world’s most abundant-and adaptable-birds. When they finally descend to their treetop roost, the beating of their iridescent wings creates such a rush of sound that the noise earned the phenomenon its unusual name: a murmuration of starlings. It’s a mesmerizing sight: Thousands of birds move in unison through the evening sky, whirling and swooping as if performing a highly synchronized ballet.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |