Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science: Difference between revisions
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:::Does that mean they are not preparing to migrate, but are British starlings who behave like that during the winter? Dosnt flocking make it difficult for them to find enough food? Thanks [[Special:Contributions/92.15.26.91|92.15.26.91]] ([[User talk:92.15.26.91|talk]]) 20:49, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
:::[[Flocking (behavior)|Flocking]] in birds etc, and similar behaviours ([[Schooling (fish)|schooling]] in fish and other marine organisms, herding, swarming - I notice our articles on these subjects could use some improvement) is thought to some extent (and variably with each case) to be a protection against predators. Each individual flock member decreases its chances of being predated by surrounding itself with many other targets, and some predators are confused by an over-profusion of targets.
:::Starlings and similar birds tend to exhibit this behaviour more in the winter months when food is scarcer and 'following the flock' may increase the chances of finding at least some food, which may also tend to be concentrated in small areas like recently harvested, ploughed or sown fields, of stands of seeding trees etc, and when they are not competing for nesting places. In the spring and summer the wider and more plentiful availability of food enables them to disperse and stake their own individual nesting and foraging territories. Other bird species pursue other strategies, there being several viable [[Ecological niche|niches]] in the environment. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} [[Special:Contributions/90.197.66.165|90.197.66.165]] ([[User talk:90.197.66.165|talk]]) 22:38, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
== Arrow of time ==
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