Editing Starling (section)

==Murmuration<!--'Murmuration' redirects here-->==
[[File:Spectacular Starlings at Newport Wetlands Nature Reserve, Cymru, Wales.webm|thumb|[[Swarm behaviour|Murmuration]] of common starlings at [[Newport Wetlands Nature Reserve]], Wales]]
A highly social bird, most starlings associate in flocks of varying sizes throughout the year and are widely known for a  distinctive, often dramatic [[swarm behaviour|swarming behavior]] known as murmuration<ref name=King2012>{{cite journal |vauthors=King AJ, Sumpter DJ |title=Murmurations |journal=Current Biology |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=R112–4 |date=2012 |pmid=22361142 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2011.11.033 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2012CBio...22.R112K }}</ref> &mdash; a simultaneously synchronized and seemingly random flock movement characterized by sudden, erratic direction changes without an observable leader.<ref name="wings"/>

The sharp pushing, pulling, diving, pulsating and swooping of the flock in response to the individual movements may confuse and discourage predators such as falcons, providing a collective protection.<ref name="murm"/> The term ''murmuration'' derives from the low, indistinct sounds of a dense flock's wings &mdash; i.e., the ''murmor''.<ref name="wings">{{cite web
 |title        = Starling Murmurations: A Complete Guide on this Phenomenon
 |publisher    = Birdfact.com
 |author       = 
 |date         = September 14, 2023
 |url          = https://birdfact.com/birds/starling/starling-murmuration}}</ref> 

Initial study by ornithologist [[Edmund Selous]] (1887-1934) sought to explain the murmurmation of starlings through the idea of [[Telepathy|thought-transference]].<ref name="synchronize"/> By 2013, physicists in Italy along with mechanical and aerospace engineers working with [[Princeton University]], determined that no single bird could control a flock, and certainly not the movements of more than a thousand birds. Researchers used a computer simulation to determine that each bird synchronized with its seven closest neighbors, creating overlapping groups that communicated their movements &mdash; focusing on three simple parameters: attraction, repulsion and angular alignment.<ref name="synchronize">{{cite web
 |title        = The Secrets and Science Behind Starling Murmurations
 |publisher    = Howstuffworks.com
 |author       = John Donovan
 |date         = 9 August 2019
 |url          = https://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/starling-murmurations.htm}}</ref> Thus the flock moves as each individual bird synchronizes with its nearest group.<ref name="wings"/>  Researchers also confirmed that a particular shape to the flock formation worked most efficiently for data accuracy &mdash; and specifically in starlings, a pancake shape. Thinner, thicker or spherical shapes did not improve performance, rather optimal performance was related to a pancake flock shape.<ref name="pancake">{{cite web
 |title        = Birds of a feather … track seven neighbors to flock together
 |publisher    = Princeton University, Office of Engineering Communications
 |author       = nna Azvolinsky
 |date         = February 7, 2013
 |url          = https://www.princeton.edu/news/2013/02/07/birds-feather-track-seven-neighbors-flock-together}}</ref>

They noted that "information moves across the flock very quickly and with nearly no degradation,"<ref name="lost"/> describing it as "a high signal-to-noise ratio"<ref name="lost"/> enabled by a bird's very high temporal resolution: they can receive and process certain information more quickly than humans and can "see faster" than humans."<ref name="synchronize"/> Unlike the [[Telephone game|children's game of telephone]] where a message is sequentially passed from person to person and very quickly loses information, researchers determined that almost no information is lost across a starling flock.<ref name="lost">{{cite web
 |title        = How Do Starling Flocks Create Those Mesmerizing Murmurations?
 |publisher    = Cornell Lab
 |author       = Andrea Alfano
 |date         = February 21, 2025
 |url          = https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/how-do-starling-flocks-create-those-mesmerizing-murmurations/}}</ref>

Starling murmurations can last from a few seconds up to 45 minutes; can involve few birds or up to tens of thousands;<ref name="murm">{{cite web
 |title        = You get one split second': The story behind a viral bird photo
 |publisher    = CNN
 |author       = Oscar Holland
 |date         = February 13, 2025
 |url          = https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/13/style/james-crombie-starling-murmurations-snap/index.html}}</ref> may include other species of starlings or species from other families; and sometimes form abstract dramatic shapes, patterns or subtle gradations.<ref name="murm"/>  In [[Denmark]], where murmurations have been estimated to involve a million starlings, the phenomenon is called the Black Sun, or ''Sort sol'' in Danish.<ref name="black">{{cite web
 |title        = The Black Sun in Denmark
 |publisher    = denmark.net
 |author       = Craig Hewitt
 |date         = 23 November 2012
 |url          = https://denmark.net/black-sun-denmark/}}</ref> In Ireland, starlings’ numbers are boosted during winter, as migrating flocks arrive from breeding grounds around Western Europe and Scandinavia. 

===Behavior===
Starlings imitate a variety of avian species and have a repertoire of about 15–20 distinct imitations. They also imitate a few sounds other than those of wild birds. The calls of abundant species or calls that are simple in frequency structure and show little amplitude modulation are preferentially imitated. Dialects of mimicked sounds can be local.<ref name = "HBW"/>

The Starling's sociality is particularly evident in their roosting behavior; in the nonbreeding season, some roosts can number in the thousands.<ref name = "HBW"/>

===Diet and feeding===
[[File:Aplonis opaca.jpg|thumb|[[Micronesian starling]]s have been observed feeding on the eggs of [[seabird]]s.]]
[[File:2 starlings and a robin on grape arbor. - DPLA - 9cd7742aa67b676375f64c4402dee2c2.jpg|left|thumb|Two starlings and an American robin (right) on grape arbor: The American robin is plucking a grape. Robins and starlings cause serious damage to ripening grapes in California and elsewhere.]]
The diets of the starlings are usually dominated by fruits and insects. Many species are important dispersers of seeds, in Asia and Africa, for example, [[white sandalwood]] and [[Indian banyan]]. In addition to trees, they are also important dispersers of [[parasitic]] [[mistletoe]]s. In South Africa, the [[red-winged starling]] is an important disperser of the [[introduced species|introduced]] ''[[Acacia cyclops]]''. Starlings have been observed feeding on fermenting over-ripe fruit, which led to the speculation that they might become intoxicated by the alcohol.<ref name = "HBW"/>

Laboratory experiments on European starlings have found that they have disposal enzymes that allow them to break down alcohol very quickly.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Prinzinger |first=R.|author2=Hakimi G.A. |year=1996|title=Alcohol resorption and alcohol degradation in the European Starling ''Sturnus vulgaris''|journal=Journal für Ornithologie|volume=137|issue=3|pages=319–327|doi=10.1007/BF01651072|bibcode= |s2cid=31680169}}</ref> In addition to consuming fruits, many starlings also consume [[nectar]]. The extent to which starlings are important [[pollinator]]s is unknown, but at least some are, such as the [[slender-billed starling]] of alpine East Africa, which pollinates [[megaherb|giant]] [[lobelia]]s.<ref name = "HBW"/>