Posts Tagged ‘starlings dance’

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Dancing Birds

November 24, 2011

Murmuration – Thanksgiving Amazement!

At the link below you can view video footage of a murmuration – a natural phenomenon that is the signaling of the onset of winter. A huge flock of European Starlings swirl through the sky appearing as if they are a finely tuned dance team performing a well practiced choreographed piece. The short-lived seasonal phenomenon, signaling the onset of winter, was captured by Sophie Windsor Clive and Liberty Smith on a canoe trip on the River Shannon in Ireland.

These birds have a reaction time of under 100 milliseconds which certainly helps to prevent collisions. So why do the starlings flock together and fly like these? Some believe it is a way to protect themselves from perdators, such as peregine falcons. I can only image what it might e like to paddle underneath of them as they dance above.Talk about performance art?!!

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/30930/flock+of+starlings+dazzling+aerial+ballet+captured+on+video/