02-08-2008, 02:35 PM | #1 (permalink) |
Yarp.
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question about bird flight patterns
For any ornithologists/bird enthusiasts here: I'm curious to know if there is a behavioral explanation for starlings and pigeons flying in patterns as a group. Sometimes they do it in huge numbers, sometimes a couple break off from the larger group and fly in smaller groups alongside the others, and when I see it happen, it last a couple of seconds at a time. When viewed in large enough numbers from a distance, they look like fabric blowing in the wind and I think it's fun to watch them. But why do they do it?
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02-08-2008, 02:37 PM | #2 (permalink) |
Young Crumudgeon
Location: Canada
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I'm not an ornithologist, but the explanation I've always heard is that it's a survival mechanism. A single starling is easy pickings for predators, but by forming these huge groups they create a situation where a predator is overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and has a hard time picking out one individual. So safety in numbers and all that.
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02-08-2008, 07:25 PM | #3 (permalink) |
The sky calls to us ...
Super Moderator
Location: CT
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It also has to do with aerodynamics. When the guys at the front get tired, they break off and trade places with others.
I'd also think that some might break off from the main group to look around for food, or to find more favorable winds, or even just get bored (birds are highly evolved enough to get bored, right?) |
02-08-2008, 07:40 PM | #4 (permalink) |
Darth Papa
Location: Yonder
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Here's why:
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02-09-2008, 10:16 AM | #5 (permalink) |
Yarp.
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Good stuff. Thanks, all.
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If one million people replaced a two mile car trip once a week with a bike ride, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 50,000 tons per year. If one out of ten car commuters switched to a bike, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 25.4 million tons per year. [2milechallenge.com] |
02-09-2008, 10:56 AM | #8 (permalink) |
Currently sour but formerly Dlishs
Super Moderator
Location: Australia/UAE
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so thats what happened when my pigeons came back less one...
great vids
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02-09-2008, 12:43 PM | #9 (permalink) |
sufferable
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Birds are fab, aren't they?! In PDX each year there is a huge group of Swifts that live in one of our school's chimneys in the Fall. They leave as a group at the same time each evening and return later at the same time in that same grouping. It is nature at her most finest.
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02-10-2008, 02:30 PM | #12 (permalink) | |
Kick Ass Kunoichi
Location: Oregon
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Quote:
But it is pretty.
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02-11-2008, 11:01 AM | #13 (permalink) | |
Yarp.
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Quote:
Love the videos!
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If one million people replaced a two mile car trip once a week with a bike ride, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 50,000 tons per year. If one out of ten car commuters switched to a bike, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 25.4 million tons per year. [2milechallenge.com] |
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Tags |
bird, flight, patterns, question |
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