murmuration
Birds flying together
A murmuration is the collective swirling flight of starlings—thousands of birds moving in fluid, shape-shifting patterns across the sky.
The word comes from the Latin for murmur, evoking the soft rushing sound of countless wings.
By extension, murmuration can describe any low, continuous murmuring sound or the act of murmuring itself, though the starling sense now dominates.
Speckled mimicking songbirds
- birdsEgg-laying flying vertebrates
- roostBird's sleeping spot
- migrationMovement to new territory
- congregationAssembled group of worshippers
gathering · throng · cluster · multitude · bevy · brood · covey · winged
Coming into existence
- complexityState of being complicated
- synchronyTemporal coordination
- cohesionTendency to bind together
- alignmentCorrect relative positioning
self-organization · collective behavior · swarm intelligence · fluid dynamics · coordination · adaptation · shapeshifting · undulation
Dimming after sundown
- sunsetDay yielding to darkness
- gloamingPoetic term for dusk
- eveningLate day period
- crepuscularRelating to dusk
vesper · nightfall · afterglow · eventide · darkening · dusky · golden hour · fading light
Presentation for viewing
- phenomenonExtraordinary observable occurrence
- wonderAmazement or curiosity
- mesmerizingCompletely capturing one's attention
- aweReverent fear and wonder
breathtaking · marvel · natural wonder · undulating · shapeshifting · swirling mass · evening show · ribbon
starlings
Speckled mimicking songbirds
congregation · gathering · throng · cluster · multitude · bevy · brood · covey · winged · aerial
emergence
Coming into existence
- complexityState of being complicated
- synchronyTemporal coordination
- cohesionTendency to bind together
alignment · self-organization · collective behavior · swarm intelligence · fluid dynamics · coordination · adaptation · shapeshifting · undulation · pulsing
dusk
Dimming after sundown
crepuscular · vesper · nightfall · afterglow · eventide · darkening · dusky · golden hour · fading light · silhouette
display
Presentation for viewing
- phenomenonExtraordinary observable occurrence
- wonderAmazement or curiosity
- mesmerizingCompletely capturing one's attention
awe · breathtaking · marvel · natural wonder · undulating · shapeshifting · swirling mass · evening show · ribbon · wave
swooping
Descending in curves
rippling · pulsing · cascading · flowing · shifting · turning · banking · contracting · expanding · oscillating
peregrine
Roaming, or a falcon
- falconSwift bird of prey
- sparrowhawkSmall bird-hunting raptor
- raptorHunting bird with talons
predator · evasion · defense · safety in numbers · vigilance · escape · mobbing · alarm · scatter · regroup
- animal behaviorsswimming, running, walking, jumping, flying
- collective nounsflock, herd, school, pack, swarm
- synchronized movementsynchronized swimming, formation flying, schooling, unison, lockstep
- bird eventsmigration, nesting, hatching, molting, mating
- flight patternsflight path, holding pattern, traffic pattern, landing pattern, V formation
- group behaviorflocking, herding, swarming, schooling, shoaling
murmurationstillness
Complete lack of motion
motionlessness · stasis · perching · roosting · immobility
murmurationisolation
Complete separation from others
solitude · individual · dispersal · scattering · fragmentation