Starling murmurations are one of the most dazzling displays in the natural world. A starling flock like this is called a murmuration, a word that perfectly describes the rustle of thousands of pairs of wings.
This looks like an avian lava lamp in the sky, trippy for sure. I wonder how does this work? Each bird in perfect sync with every other bird. Is there like a starling ringleader that calls out commands? They are flying in formation, but a fluid, ever changing formation.
What could go wrong? The way I see it 3 tiny events would be catastrophic.
1) I figure there are some older birds who are experiencing the onset of bird dementia. (birdmentia, is that a thing?) Inevitably, one will have a senior moment, forget where he's at, bump into the bird next to him which causes a chain reaction and a thousand bird pileup in the sky....like on the interstate.
2) There probably are some wayward starlings that like to hang out getting stoned with the night owls. Next morning, these reprobates would be flying under the influence. That diminished capacity would slow reaction time, they bump into next bird... again PILEUP!
3) And you know there is always one bird who was hatched uncoordinated, can't dance, has no rhythm, or maybe has untreated ADHD and just can't concentrate on the next move. His mind goes into overload, he bumps into the next bird.... BAM!! another PILEUP.
I'd wager at least one of these scenarios has happened, it just wasn't filmed.
If this dilemma troubles you..... you're not alone!
On the other hand, these starlings would would kick ass at country line dancing!
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