# Starlings: nature's, er, feathered sardines



## HareBrain (Feb 16, 2010)

After spotting what looked like a giant flying fingerprint disappearing behind some roofs this evening, I got myself to the top of a multi-storey car park to find several other people gathered to watch the most amazing aerial display: a starling flock preparing to roost. I've seen them in huge numbers on TV, and this was in comparison quite a small group, though still I guess several thousand strong. But watching in real life the flock's twisting and turning, like djinn-possessed smoke, knocked spots off seeing it on telly. What made it even better was the arrival of a peregrine falcon (one of a pair that nest on the cathedral) who had a go at catching a meal from the writhing, dancing mass of birdlife, and which encouraged the flock to even more spectacular visual effects, similar to the behaviour of schools of sardines when being hunted by sharks or sea-lions. After a while the falcon gave up, and shortly after that the starlings began to peel off from the flock in groups of tens or hundreds and plunge down into the scrub bordering the rail tracks, the effect being like the fall of volcanic debris from a cloud.

It was truly wonderful to see. And to think it's probably been going on every winter's dusk since I moved here eight years ago, and it's the first time I've seen it!


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## The Judge (Feb 16, 2010)

Why do they do that, do you think?  I can understand the sardines, because they are being hunted and by coming together they presumably have a greater chance of individual survival.  But unless the falcon was after them at first, why did the starlings bother displaying - why not just go straight to bed?


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## Boneman (Feb 16, 2010)

If you've got it - flaunt it!


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## HareBrain (Feb 17, 2010)

The Judge said:


> Why do they do that, do you think? I can understand the sardines, because they are being hunted and by coming together they presumably have a greater chance of individual survival. But unless the falcon was after them at first, why did the starlings bother displaying - why not just go straight to bed?


 
My understanding is that it's wholly safety-in-numbers self-preservation, rather than display: a whirling mass of birds confuses a predator, making it unable to pick out any one target. As to why they don't go directly to bed, rather than all meet just above their roost site and fly around for ages using up energy, I don't know, and couldn't find the answer in a quick internet search. But I guess if a group of two or three starlings were to head straight for the bushes or reeds, they'd be susceptible to ambush. By being part of a many-thousand-eyed group, they can be sure the coast is clear when they peel off and drop down to roost.

This is one of the better youtube videos I found. Better in real life though.


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## Allegra (Mar 15, 2010)

Evidently when a cloud of starlings meet a hawk, not everyone is so lucky: 

BBC News - Mystery of 75 starlings falling from the sky



> *The deaths of 75 starlings which appeared to fall from the sky and crash land on to a driveway in Somerset has mystified the RSPCA animal charity.*
> The birds were spotted falling onto the entrance of a house in Coxley in Somerset on Sunday 7 March.
> "Our best guess is that this happened because the starlings were trying to escape a predator such as a sparrow hawk and ended up crash landing."


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## Moonbat (Mar 15, 2010)

That is a great mystery, I think the chace that they were all avoiding a Hawk and crashed into the ground quite unlikely, I have also read about several other incidents round the world where lots of birds suddenly died or crashed into the ground.

I think they flew into an invisible spaceship,


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## Mouse (Mar 15, 2010)

Tons of starlings in Somerset. (Which is incidentally, where those 75 fell from the sky.) Particularly in Chard where I live. One year it was so bad that they called the birdmen out to get rid of them because people were complaining about bird poop on their cars! Personally, I loved them! I could watch them from my kitchen window and the sky for as far as I could see would be black with them. Amazing. The story even made it onto This Morning with Phil and Fern!


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## Talysia (Mar 15, 2010)

How very strange.  If not a predator, then I wonder what caused them to fall like that.

I've only been lucky enough to see such a spectacular aerial display once, and even then it was a much smaller flock.  It was still one of the most wonderful moments, though, and I think I'll always remember it.


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## Allegra (Mar 15, 2010)

You are all very lucky! The only time I saw a huge flock of starlings was in front of Rome Termini station - YouTube - Mesmerizing Starlings - Rome - no, I didn't get to see that magnificent air show because when I was passing all the birds were simply perched on the trees and being very noisy. I was busy covering my hair and looking at my steps as you can imagine.

Oh did I just spot a hawk doing a murderous dive in that footage at 0:11???


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## Ursa major (Mar 15, 2010)

I recall reading an article on the web (_not_ the one to which I'm linking in this post) about people who are not so keen on starlings. And they put the blame on some over-ardent () lovers of Shakespeare.
Thanks to Shakespeare, the Starling Has Become a North American Nuisance - washingtonpost.com​


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## Parson (Mar 15, 2010)

Now if you'll lived out along the Missouri fly way (I do) you would be treated to seeing 10,000's of Canadian Geese, and not those miserable starlings.

But if I have to choose, I will pick Starling p**p over that green slimy goose p**p. I once had some fall on my windshield and my whole family came close to barfing.


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## Ursa major (Mar 15, 2010)

Pssst! Parson! _Don't mention geese! Don't mention that they're pests. In particular, don't ask about ways of getting rid of them. Don't even ask why not. All you need to know is that there's been "trouble" before on this topic. *winks*_


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## Parson (Mar 16, 2010)

Mum's the word.


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## StormFeather (Mar 16, 2010)

Just thought I'd share these amazing pictures from the papers this morning. Seemed appropriate for this thread

Amazing moment bald eagle chases down and catches a starling in mid-air | Mail Online


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## Allegra (Mar 16, 2010)

Great pictures! One of the comments made me laugh: "_I like Starlings_", here comes the sympathizer, I thought, "_They are very tasty and go well with poached quails eggs and toast_."


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## Talysia (Mar 16, 2010)

Wow - what impressive pictures!  I'm continually awestruck by nature, sometimes.


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