I'm not a real bird watcher but, having moved, I'm now lucky enough to witness a daily display of murmurating starlings over my house. It must be one of the most magical wildlife spectacles we are fortunate enough to see in Britain during the winter months. As each bird strives to fly as close to its neighbours as possible, its tiny deviations are magnified and distorted by those surrounding it to create rippling, swirling patterns.
The logic behind this spectacular behaviour is simple: survival. Starlings are tasty morsels for peregrines, merlins and sparrowhawks. The answer is to seek safety in numbers, gathering in flocks and with every bird trying to avoid the edge where adept predators can sometimes snatch a victim.
Until recently such sights were common over London. Indeed, in 1949 so many roosted on the hands of Big Ben that they stopped the clock. Sadly, such invasions are a thing of the past, but Rome is currently subject to a vast influx of several million birds each winter. This produces spectacular swarms, but the problems associated with the roosts are not so wondrous.
There are, of course, downsides to this amazing phenomenon. Starling droppings are extremely acidic and can damage paintwork on car. In Rome car owners have to pay out millions of euros for resprays!
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