Page 35 - NT Birds of a Feather

Common starlings live in huge flocks and in the winter you can see them getting ready to roost by taking part in an incredible air performance called a ‘murmuration’. During this performance, the starlings drop and rise
and seem to move as one beautiful shape in the sky. They gather together to return to their winter roost as it helps them to stay warm and makes it more difficult for predators to attack them.
Starling murmurations have been taking place for thousands of years – there are even records about them from ancient Rome! Some ancient romans were given the job of reading the skies for signs from the gods, and the different shapes made by starling murmurations could be read as approval or as a sign that something bad was coming.