Starling Antics

Originally posted by the author of the Peace, Caffeine, Linux blog way back in January, a video (now also available at Yahoo! Video) showing a wheeling and whirling flock of European Starlings trying to roost in a spindly Red Cedar has been commented upon by many bloggers and their readers, including (most recently), The Lippard Blog, Pharyngula, the Invasive Species Weblog, Mom and Apple Pie, and A DC Birding Blog.

Also, check out these incredible images of massive flocks of swirling Starlings from Denmark, where the phenomenon is known as the Black Sun. This phenomenon can also be viewed in the U.S., especially in the fall and early winter.

Beringian auklets (particularly Crested and Least auklets) also engage in similar aerial ballets during their twice-daily mass arrivals and departures from their breeding colonies.