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murmuration
noun: US /ˈmɝː.mɚˈeɪ.ʃən/ UK /ˈmɜː.məˈreɪ.ʃən/
a large group of birds, usually starlings, that all fly together and change direction together, or the act of birds doing this :
Starling murmurations are one of the most dazzling displays in the natural world.
a murmuration of starlings
They weren’t starlings but sandpipers. And as my dog and I got closer, the tiny birds took flight, an orchestra rising and falling with an invisible conductor. Was there some imperceptible (to me) leader who caused the others to follow? Was there a word for this apparent magic?
It turns out there is: “Murmuration,” though the term typically applies to starlings. “Murmurations have no leader and follow no plan,” reads an article in The Conversation. “Mathematicians and computer scientists try to create virtual murmurations using rules that birds might follow in a flock — like moving in the same direction as their neighbor, staying close, and not colliding. From these simulations, it seems that each bird must keep track of seven neighbors and adjust based on what they’re doing to keep the murmuration from falling apart in a chaotic mess.”
The article goes on to note that murmurations have been observed in schools of fish and swarms of honey bees. And I can vouch for them occurring in sandpipers. The movements happen so quickly and contribute to what scientists call “functional complexity of animal collectives.” Buddhist scientist Neil Theise notes that “Neither we nor our universe is machinelike. A machine doesn’t have the option to change its behavior if its environment changes or becomes overwhelming. Complex systems, including human bodies and human societies, can change their behaviors in the face of the unpredictable. That creativity is the essence of complexity.”
Maria Popova, creator of The Marginalian, believes that Theise aims to link the mystery out there to the mystery of us.
I, for one, prefer the mystery and the magic of murmuration to the science of it.
Want to see what murmuration looks like? Click here.
