The Science Behind Bird Flocking Behavior: How Birds Move in Formation and Avoid Collisions

Jakarta –

Flying in flocks is a habit of several species of birds, including the starling.

The exact reason why birds form flocks and then fly away is still debated by experts. Some say this is for self-defense reasons.

Individuals are easily caught by predators, but when they are together, many eyes are alert for danger. Additionally, flying in groups is said to increase aerodynamic efficiency.

Surprisingly, birds that move quickly and over short distances in large groups can form and change direction in any formation without hitting each other.

These flocks usually gather at night and perform spectacular aerobatic displays before landing on their favorite perches.

How could that happen?

Previous studies did not find evidence of a single central leader as the primary control of the birds because leadership often changed.

Quoted from Discover wildlifeeach bird must follow three basic rules: move in the same direction as the bird next to it, stay close to each other, and avoid collisions.

It relies on sensory systems that detect position and movement accurately, and on rapid responses that coordinate changes in direction.

Physicists created three-dimensional images of flocks of woodpeckers in Rome, Italy in order to detect the birds and the responses of nearby birds.

It was later discovered that birds monitor their position by interacting with specimens of other birds next to them at different distances.

If one bird changes direction, the other birds also follow. Thus, changes in orientation are propagated through flocks of birds among individuals with similar reference points.

Heavy herds with thousands of individuals can expand and contract, expand, contract or form other shapes.

This requires a bird’s response to quickly change direction. The bird’s response was measured at about 38 milliseconds and could have occurred within 15 milliseconds.

Birds that initiate large movements change direction in about 67 milliseconds. This creates a wave of change in direction that is perceived as a movement by others so that they can anticipate it.

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