Page 10 - Natural World Winter 2017
P. 10
LOVE WILDLIFE
Sorrel Lyall is a
young birder,
naturalist, wildlife
artist and writer
DANNY GREEN/2020VISION A s the days get shorter and But why do these charming birds
cooler, look to the skies at that we know so well from our
dusk and you might come gardens display this intriguing
across a strange, dark cloud of small behaviour? There are thought to be
chattering birds, swirling rapidly a few reasons. Firstly, safety. By
before a sky of pinks and oranges. constantly changing direction in a
tight flock, starlings can evade
These are common starlings, aerial hunters. Predators such as
flocking together in a behaviour
called murmurating – a hypnotic Predators
display of aerial acrobatics. Just struggle to
before dusk in the autumn and single out
winter, small flocks of starlings from one bird
the surrounding area come
together, forming a growing cloud
that can become almost opaque as
the birds turn through the air.
“Some flocks contain
The UK’s annual starling air show starts in November, boosted by migrant birds from colder parts
10 NATURAL WORLD WINTER 2017
