16 December 2024

This giant shark snout in the sky is a flock of thousands of common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) flying at dusk near Gretna, Scotland. As starlings gather to roost their tight flocks, called murmurations, wheel and turn in unison making beautiful patterns in the sky.

Sometimes the flock makes a recognizable shape like the hawk-bird in this video. They aren’t trying to do this. It just happens. Wow!

(video embedded from Stuart McNeil on YouTube)

Under pressure from a predator, starlings intentionally fly closer together and shape-shift into giant blobs, making it impossible for the predator to lock on to a single bird as prey.

Can you see the peregrine at top right, above, and to the left below?

The only way for a peregrine to catch dinner is to break the blob. He rushes the flock, trying to separate a few starlings away from the group. The blob gets even tighter!

Watch a peregrine shape-shift the starlings and ignite the magic in a murmuration.