The Miracles of This World
In my neat, over-organized little country, we sometimes fall for the illusion that we’ve got nature all figured out. After all, we Dutch have tamed the water for centuries and live safely below sea level. Nature holds no more secrets for us.
Or so we like to think.
Until, one crisp evening, you spot a handful of starlings flying in. Then another handful. And another. Slowly, the scattered groups gather, forming a growing smudge in the sky. And before you know it, you’re staring open-mouthed at a cloud of tens of thousands -sometimes even hundreds of thousands -of birds.
And your ears join in the awe, as the sound this feathered superorganism makes is nothing short of breathtaking.
Safety in Numbers
A grand murmuration often begins with the presence of a bird of prey, like a sparrowhawk or a peregrine falcon. Somehow, this single predator like a masterful choreographer, can single-handedly get the entire group dancing, creating mesmerizing shapes.
I’ve always wondered why the starlings don’t just reverse the roles and perform do a “Pac-Man” together… but then again, I’m not a starling.
Starlings respond to danger by “clouding,” presumably to confuse the bird of prey.
Sounds logical, right? But…
- How do they know exactly where to go?
- How do they do this without a leader?
- How do thousands of beaks manage to fly in unison, in perfect sync?
(We humans struggle to agree on dinner plans in a WhatsApp group of five!) - And how do they all suddenly know the party has moved to a new location the next day?
Enough to amaze you endlessly.
If only you had the time.
Because just then, the black cloud begins to pulse wildly, like a shape-shifting Barbapapa with a bellyache.
Morphing from shape to shape, dancing into the dusk….until you suddenly you remember:
Miracles still exist!
More starlings => Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), the Shiny Chatterbox
More mururations => Murmurations and mental processes
More about murmurations? Read my Murmurations & Mental Processes
