A great word - murmuration
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325264)
Rockingham, Australia
January 12, 2019 6:04pm CST
@xFiacre just wrote about a murmuration of starlings and I mentioned that Vince had recently used the word in relation to budgerigars. These are also called love birds and in the USA I think they’re called parakeets. They are a very popular cage bird and make good talkers. They are now available in a variety of colours but in the wild they are all green and yellow with dark markings and barring on the wings.
I found this YouTube clip from BBC One’s Earthflight programme of a murmuration of budgies near Uluru in central Australia. It’s less than two minutes long but very interesting. I haven’t seen a murmuration of budgies but I’ve seen flocks of them in the wild. I’ve never been able to look at caged ones in quite the same way since although most seem to be happy enough in captivity.
The photo is one we took of Uluru when we visited there a couple of years ago.
SUBSCRIBE for more BBC highlights: https://bit.ly/2IXqEIn WATCH full programmes on BBC iPlayer https://bbc.in/2J18jYJ More about this programme: http://www.b...
29 people like this
28 responses
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
13 Jan 19
I feel sorry for caged birds.
8 people like this
@RasmaSandra (73167)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
13 Jan 19
Thanks for sharing that is fascinating. The word is kind of hard to pronounce but good to learn something new.
6 people like this
@FourWalls (61898)
• United States
13 Jan 19
Wow, what a lot of birds!!!!! Absolutely beautiful, too!!! I love how the kangaroos look completely unconcerned (they’ve obviously never seen that Hitchcock movie!) while all the birds fly around.
“Murmuration,” isn’t that an R.E.M. album?
3 people like this
@FourWalls (61898)
• United States
13 Jan 19
@JudyEv — they were just a little band that never amounted to anything.....
© 2011 WMG Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982- 2011, the definitive R.E.M. greatest hits collection! Get it: Amazon: http://amzn.to/vBDlg5...
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325264)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jan 19
@FourWalls I had actually heard of R.E.M. but don't know the album. I've heard the song you put up.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Jan 19
I will always say Ayers Rock.
6 people like this
@ilocosboy (45157)
• Philippines
13 Jan 19
It would be amazing to watch these birds flocking and in amazing formations.
2 people like this
@Swayamsiddha (4358)
• New Delhi, India
13 Jan 19
Oh so this is how love birds look in a video!!!
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325264)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jan 19
I hope we are able to go back one day. There is such a lot to see there.
@popciclecold (35024)
• United States
14 Jan 19
That's the first time I saw them in the wild. Amazing. Thanks for sharing.
1 person likes this
@popciclecold (35024)
• United States
15 Jan 19
@JudyEv I would like to know that too, never seen that many at one time. I was like wow.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325264)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Jan 19
@popciclecold There are so many they just about darken the sky.
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
13 Jan 19
Loved the video! An amazing aerial display.
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
14 Jan 19
@JudyEv Do you think there are ny collisions with millions of birds flying so closely together?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325264)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Jan 19
@1hopefulman You'd think there would have to be wouldn't you?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325264)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jan 19
The video is incredible. I wonder if there were any collisions.
@LowRiderX (22907)
• Serbia
26 Mar 19
I've never been to Australia, but I know some dear people who live in Australia, this mountain in the picture is known to me, is that a movie may not have been filmed there?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325264)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Mar 19
@LowRiderX That's the other side of Australia to me but it's a very beautiful city.
1 person likes this