When you're finished, share your story with your Wonder Friends by posting it on Facebook.How long do birds incubate their eggs and how long do chicks stay in the nest? Describe what it's like to fly with thousands of other starlings that look just like you. Tell your readers who you are and where you live. How do they keep from bumping into one another? Do they all know each other's names? Do they talk to each other in flight? Or can they communicate with their thoughts? Do the starlings decide in advance what patterns they will form? Or do they make it up as they go along? Answer these questions as creatively as you can by writing a short story about a murmuration from a single starling's point of view. Up for a challenge? Ready to give flight to your imagination? Now that you know what a murmuration is…and how little modern scientists understand them, we want to know what you think goes on between the thousands of starlings in flight.Enjoy A Bird Ballet and marvel at the sight of a magnificent murmuration! Some people have managed to capture some murmurations on video. Have you ever seen a murmuration in real life? If not, don't worry.WONDER why? Check it out! Do Birds of a Feather Flock Together?, a previous Wonder of the Day, explains why! Read through it with a friend or family member and enjoy learning more about groups of birds. Even if birds don't take part in a murmuration, they might flock together in smaller groups.The mystery of the murmuration is a fascinating example of a natural phenomenon that hides secrets about the world that scientists have still yet to uncover!ĭid today's Wonder of the Day take you to new heights? We hope so! Keep soaring with a friend or family member as you check out one or more of the following activities: This phenomenon puzzles scientists, because it goes beyond what we know from biology about how animals behave. Regardless of the size of the murmuration, all the birds seem to be connected to the same network. What scientists still don't understand, though, is how hundreds or thousands of starlings seem to know when to turn simultaneously, when birds at opposite ends of the flock are separated by space and hundreds or thousands of other birds. It's easy to understand how one starling knows to turn when its neighbor turns, since they're close together and can see each other. As shown in today's video, when a murmuration turns in unison, scientists believe it's like a phase transition. Like the elements of these other systems, each starling in a murmuration is connected to every other starling. These systems are “on the edge,' which means they're ready to be completely transformed in an instant. Scientists believe murmurations are similar to other systems, such as crystals forming, avalanches, metals becoming magnetized and liquids turning to gases. However, scientists now believe they may be able to describe murmurations using the principles of physics. Scientists have been surprised to learn that the flying patterns of murmurations have more in common with physics than biology.

Recently, they have started to use cameras and computers to understand the mystery of murmurations. However, starlings don't plan or practice their flight patterns.įor years, scientists have WONDERed about murmurations. How do hundreds or even thousands of birds coordinate such complicated movement while in flight?ĭo the birds plan out and practice their flying routines in advance? That's what we humans would have to do if we were to look that graceful. They twist and turn and change direction at a moment's notice. You can search online for “ murmuration' videos to see for yourself how incredible these large flocks of birds can be.Īs they fly, the starlings in a murmuration seem to be connected together. Luckily, a few murmurations have been caught on video. Seeing hundreds - even thousands - of starlings flying together in a whirling, ever-changing pattern is a phenomenon of nature that amazes and delights those lucky enough to witness it. Have you ever seen a murmuration? If you have, you would know it. But what do you call that flock when the birds of a feather are starlings? Give up? It's called a murmuration. Wonder Friends already know that birds of a feather flock together.

Starling flocks flying