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Letters From The Time Traveler: The Starling
Dearest,
I am always looking for signs in nature and today was no different.
I saw a starling up close in a window of a home I was visiting.
I didn’t recall the name of the bird right away, but then I remembered the murmurations we used to be fascinated by.
They fly in these amazing formations to have safety in numbers. The sheer number of birds makes it difficult for predators to target a single bird.
And the mesmerizing swirling effect of the murmuration confuses predators like hawks and owls. The more birds in the flock, the more eyes and ears to detect predators
It also helps them keep warm. Additionally, they can exchange information on good feeding areas.
Shakespeare was also fascinated by starlings:
The common starling…