In North America, birders don't think much of starlings—those exotic invaders released in New York City's Central Park and then spread across the continent disrupting native avian species along the way.  You might think of it as E pluribus unum—out of many, one—in reverse.  From an estimated 60 to 100 starlings turned loose in Manhattan a century ago, there are 200 million starlings found from coast to coast today.

In their native Europe, however, their massings are bona-fide phenomena.  All we can say is enjoy this video by Sophie Windsor Clive and Liberty Smith.  They encountered it paddling the River Shannon in Ireland. It's amazing, the sculptural embodiments that these unexpected swarms, called murmurations— take.  Check out more at The Huffington Post (after first viewing the video below)  and read more  about the science of clustering at the English newspaper, The Telegraph .  All we can say is, if you live in the Western New World, imagine the sight of passenger pigeons, now extinct.

The video, below, whether one enjoys starlings or not, is extraordinary!  And add the word murmuration to your vocabulary.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.