BBC Wildlife - UK (2021-12)

32 BBC WILDLIFE December 2021

boggling proportions, when our resident

birds are joined by a large continental

immigrant population attracted by Britain’s

mild Gulf Stream climate.

Spending the day feeding anywhere up

to 80km away from their winter roost, the

starlings often gather at traditional pre-

roost assembly sites, such as pig or

cattle farms, for a final pit stop before

heading for bed. Stimulating other feeding

birds to join them while passing

overhead, these smaller disparate

flocks can quickly grow in size as they

of the compass.

Catch the breathtaking bedtime

displays of roiling starling

masses while you can

COME

TOGETHER

STARLING MURMURATIONS

WILDLIFE SPECTACLES

The broadcaster, naturalist and tour guide shares the

most breathtaking seasonal events in Britain

O

f all the varied and often odd

collective nouns for animals, few

can be as well known – but also as

mysterious – as a murmuration of

starlings. Supposedly derived from

the sound of thousands of fluttering

wings passing overhead, the swirling,

mesmerising show of starlings

gathering at their winter

roost is arguably the greatest

ornithological spectacle

Britain has to offer.

Despite a recent

decline in population,

due primarily to

changes in pastoral

farming, the starling

is still one of our

commonest breeding

birds. Once fledged, large

assemblages of young birds often

form during the summer months.

But it’s not until late autumn that

FR the flock sizes can reach truly mind-

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:^ P

AU

L^ S

AW

ER

/R

SP

B-I

MA

GE

S.C

OM

;^ D

AV

ID

W

ILL

IAM

S/B

IA

/M

IN

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Lightning reflexes

and an awareness

of nearby birds

keep the starlings

from colliding with

each other

Did you know?

Starlings appear black from

a distance, but adult birds

have glossy green-and-purple

plumage when seen up close