A flock of starlings is called a murmuration, and a beautiful video of a murmuration of starlings flying about has been described by Martha as “nature’s ornithological lava lamp.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “A Murmuration”
Grant, there’s an amazing new video making the rounds online.
It was filmed by a couple of women who just happened upon a huge flock of starlings in the sky.
Have you seen this?
I think I heard about this.
It’s fantastic.
This video goes on for a couple of minutes, and it’s just mesmerizing.
There’s this huge flock of birds, and it twists and turns and changes shape.
It’s sort of like, I don’t know, nature’s ornithological lava lamp.
Oh, nice.
It’s just fantastic.
And because of that video, I learned a new word.
I learned the English collective noun for starlings.
Which is? No, I don’t know what that is.
Well, you know, we have an exaltation of larks and a clowder of cats.
A flock of starlings, just for the record, is a murmuration.
Isn’t that nice?
That’s nice.
Are you murmuring over there?
I am murmuring.
It’s from the Latin murmuratio, which means the continuous utterance of low cries, muttering, grumbling.
Isn’t that so picturesque and sensuous with the sound and murmuration of starlings?
We’ll link to that video on our website, along with an article in Wired magazine, explaining just how a murmuration of starlings does what it does.
So go to waywordradio.org.
