Amazing phenomenon of nature observed by lucky few

We all have seen the flying birds either single one or flying in groups. Have you ever encountered a rare phenomenon where hundreds or thousands of birds fly together in sync making patterns in sky? This is called Murmuration: Amazing Ever-Changing Flight Patterns of Birds!

Starling Birds

Starlings or Sturnus Vulgaris, are medium sized passerine birds, of family “Sturnidae”. The “Sturnidae” comes from Latin word Sturnus. Asian species are called Mynas and many African species are called glossy starlings because of their plumage.

What is Murmuration?

Murmurations are groups of Starlings moving and flying together in huge form of clouds in sky, creating patterns in sky. They form/write geometric mathematical abstractions in sky with patterns.

They swoon, twist, turn and swirl in sky together making shape shifting clouds of birds just before dusk near their roosting sites.

Observed one such huge European Starling murmuration in the sky, while driving back home after family outing, yesterday near North Campus of University of Buffalo, in Buffalo, NY. The starlings thrive in Western New York and pretty much in most of the places in North America.

Murmuration: The term is a Onomatopoeic, meaning that world itself is a description of sound that flock of birds make by their wings in sky.

Time of Murmurations

Th starling birds leave their place of stay/ marshes during the day and go off to feed for about 20 miles away. They return in afternoon and murmurations can start an hour before sunset!

Advantages of Murmurations for Starlings

The main reason why Starling fly in flocks and murmurate is as follows:

1. To keep off predators when the birds are together
2. Keep the flock warm
3. To help birds fly and cover long distances
4. To communicate and transfer information about food, shelter, predator and so on
5. Flocking save energy expenditure when they are together.

Science behind murmuration

Starling birds do not collide and crash while flying and changing flight patterns because they are evolved this way. Each bird aligns itself with next seven birds and more distant bird will move closer.

These swirling birds in patterns create a confusion effect preventing one single bird being target of predators. Safety in form of large number is their strategy to survive in food scarcity conditions, travel to long distances and being tempting target of predator birds.

Each bird veers right and change altitude with respect to other bird to avoid mid-air collision. According to Joel Newbolt doctoral candidate of Physics in New York University and lead author of reserach birds do not collide as natural air and water flows generated during flight prevent collisions and separations.

This design strategy is also applied to and same as airplane guidance systems, hence resulting in, avoidance of mid-air collisions of air crafts.Why do Birds Fly in Formation? — Peggy Notebaert Nature MuseumIf you’ve spent a year in the United States, then you’ve heard the honks and seen the distinctive v-shaped flying…naturemuseum.org

According to scientist and author Rupert Sheldrake Morphic resonance is the idea of interconnection and collective memory with in species. Its kind of self organizing system inheriting a memory from previous similar system.

Spiritual meaning of being lucky with watching murmurations

There is a spiritual correlation in watching murmuration and being lucky yourself in western European region and Asia! Seeing flock of birds symbolizes freedom, expansiveness, and keen vision.