This stunning starling murmuration hypnotised onlookers in England. Wendy Turbull, who captured this video, said she travelled from Birmingham to Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire with the hope of seeing the starlings take flight. A murmuration is when thousands of birds group together and swoop and dive in unison. They do this as there is safety in numbers and predators find it difficult to target a single bird amongst a flock of thousands. It also allows them to keep warm and exchange information.

Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is the most well-known species, native to Europe and Asia but now found worldwide. Introduced to North America in the 1890s — by a group that wanted to bring all of Shakespeare’s birds to the U.S.! While they may look black from a distance, Starlings actually have glossy, iridescent plumage with hints of purple, green, and blue, especially in sunlight. In winter, their feathers are dotted with tiny white speckles. Starlings are exceptional mimics, able to copy