Starlings flock over Lauwersmeer National Park, Netherlands

Moving as one

After the nesting and breeding seasons of spring and summer have passed, starlings start gathering in their thousands. Sometimes they take the form of a murmuration - when the flock is large and dense enough that the birds appear to move together as a single being. Although scientists still don't understand how starlings coordinate their tight, fluid formations, it is thought they do so to confuse predators.

Imagine you're a falcon on the hunt and you see a small group of starlings - an easy meal if you catch one. But if the starlings spot the predator first, they may form a murmuration, swooping and diving as one, making it difficult for the falcon to isolate and pick off an individual bird for its dinner.