On 18/12/2020 16:11, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Chris Hogg wrote:
On Fri, 18 Dec 2020 14:23:37 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Chris Hogg wrote:
On Fri, 18 Dec 2020 12:57:13 +0000, Andrew
wrote:

If they were migrating geese then there could be
some free roasted xmas dinners :-).

Perhaps those 11Kv lines are a bit too 'saggy' though ?.
How would they stay apart during high winds, which
are expected in that part of the country ?..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotla...ntral-55334891

Is it only starlings that murmurate, or do other birds do it, does
anyone know?

Isn't it a made up word, based on a murmur of starlings?

Oh very likely, but I was meaning that spectacular swirling about in a
flock that starlings do. Other birds fly in flocks, but do any of them
murmurate like that?

It's amazing to watch. If only 'strictly' had that degree of control.

It isn't really "control", though. Like swarms of fish they are just
following a simple algorithm that says keep close to the next bird(s),
but far enough away to take avoiding action if they get too close. They
end up in a very ordered array with almost crystalline spacing, which is
why you see the sudden dark bands depending on your alignment.

It's only the perturbations when the edge gets close to an obstacle like
a tree or the ground that generate the illusion of overall control. You
see the same thing in 2d on skating rinks, just not with the same
numbers. You might have substantial numbers of vehicles on a busy
multi-lane motorway, but then that's (almost) 1d.