The murmur of a thousand Starlings

The RSPB shows you how to find a display near you of this spectacular but sadly declining bird.

Starlings are one of the most common UK garden birds, second only to House Sparrows in 2022's RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. They're also very special - not only are they brilliant mimics (copying car alarms, phones, and even human voices as well as the calls of other birds), they also put on aerial stunts that are so well-coordinated that some scientists used to think that telepathy was the only explanation.

These stunts are called 'murmurations', named after the whirring sound of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of Starlings in flight at the same time. They fly in these giant flocks in the autumn and winter, just as the sun is about to set. More and more arrive, darting across the sky to join the growing swarm. By the end they're all swooping and diving together in a giant flock around their roosting spot much like a shoal of fish - an improvised dance that looks like the finest choreography.