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Ptah

(32,983 posts)
Mon Oct 17, 2022, 02:19 PM Oct 2022

Watch: 'Murmuration' of birds over Great Falls (videos at link)

On Saturday evening, people glancing at the sky over parts of Great Falls may have seen a rather unusual sight: a murmuration - a large flock of birds that move in parallel, mimicking the moves of surrounding birds, creating a "moving cloud" of activity.

It happened between about 6:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m., as the birds swooped and swirled again and again, creating a mesmerizing display that could be seen for miles.


https://www.krtv.com/news/great-falls-news/watch-murmuration-of-birds-over-great-falls
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Watch: 'Murmuration' of birds over Great Falls (videos at link) (Original Post) Ptah Oct 2022 OP
That is a mesmerizing sight. brer cat Oct 2022 #1
That's a perfect word for it, brer cat. calimary Oct 2022 #7
Easy to see the shadow of a flying dragon there... n/t TygrBright Oct 2022 #2
Wow! hermetic Oct 2022 #3
That is a prime example of our interconnectedness. Not just with birds Maraya1969 Oct 2022 #4
The still picture 3auld6phart Oct 2022 #5
Beautiful! MontanaMama Oct 2022 #6
Beautiful. Physicists explain... JudyM Oct 2022 #8

Maraya1969

(22,441 posts)
4. That is a prime example of our interconnectedness. Not just with birds
Mon Oct 17, 2022, 03:10 PM
Oct 2022

but with all. Perhaps we can't see human mmuration because we are too close, just like the birds don't know they are making those wonderful designs.

3auld6phart

(1,017 posts)
5. The still picture
Mon Oct 17, 2022, 03:25 PM
Oct 2022

Looks like the C scan picture of my stroke of August 5. Survived it Okay
Now,the question is which one o those Starlings is the leader?


JudyM

(29,122 posts)
8. Beautiful. Physicists explain...
Tue Oct 18, 2022, 02:13 PM
Oct 2022

From the article, quoting Hoe Stuff Works:

Italian physicists used more than 400 photos from several videos to find out, plotting the position and speed of birds as they flocked. From that, they built a mathematical model that identified the optimal number of flock-mates for each bird to track.

Turns out the magic number is seven: Each bird keeps tabs on its seven closest neighbors and ignores all else. Considering all these little groups of seven touch on other individuals and groups of seven, twists and turns quickly spread. And from that, a whole murmuration moves. The scientists' findings were published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology in January 2013.

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