If you have no idea what a murmuration is, you’re not alone. After
watching this mesmerizing natural phenomenon, caught on film by two women in
Ireland, we immediately had to find out.
As it turns out, a murmuration is just a large gathering of
starlings, a medium-sized black bird. But what causes them to pulsate and majestically dance across the sky isn't what you might think.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, murmurations often form due to a falcon near the flock. And, all of the aerial ducking and weaving is really just a defense mechanism to get them the hell away from predators. Who knew something so tragic could be so beautiful?
But how do the starlings coordinate their movements so seamlessly, you ask? A study published in the
journal PLOS Computational Biology found that the birds coordinate with their seven closest flying neighbors. The researchers do admit, however, “How starlings achieve such a strong correlation remains a mystery to us.”
What isn't a mystery? How freaking awesome this video is. Things get absolutely bananas about 52 seconds in. Yay, nature!
