What Is a Big Flock of Birds Called?
A large group of birds together in one place is called a “flock.” However, there are more specific terms that describe different sizes of bird flocks:
Very Small Flocks
A “murmuration” refers to a flock of starlings. Starlings are known to gather in huge flocks called “murmurations” that twist and turn quickly in unison.
A group of quail can be called a “covey.” Coveys usually consist of 12-20 birds.
Small to Medium Flocks
A group of geese on the ground is called a “gaggle.” Gaggles of geese can contain as few as 12 birds or as many as several hundred.
A group of at least 12 plovers may be referred to as a “congregation.”
A flock of 20-30 sparrows can be called a “host” of sparrows.
Large Flocks
An “exaltation” refers to a large flock of larks in flight. They can number in the hundreds or even thousands.
A large flock of crows is called a “murder.” There is no definitive number of crows that constitute a murder, but it is generally used to describe large, ominous groups of crows.
A “colony” refers to a large flock of seabirds like penguins or albatrosses that live together. Penguin colonies can contain thousands of breeding pairs.
Very Large Flocks
Extremely large flocks have more dramatic names:
A “cloud” can describe an enormous flock of birds that blocks the sun like a cloud. This is often used to describe flocks of thousands of migrating birds like snow geese.
A “plague” refers to a massive flock of locusts numbering in the billions. Locusts swarm in plagues that descend en masse on fields and crops.
What Are Some of the Largest Bird Flocks?
Here are some of the most spectaclely large bird flockings that can be seen in nature:
Passenger Pigeons
Passenger pigeons were once the most abundant bird in North America, numbering into the billions. Accounts from the 19th century described massive flocks that took hours or even days to pass overhead, blotting out the sun like an eclipse.
The extinction of the passenger pigeon highlights the fragility of large bird flocks. Hunting and habitat loss decimated their numbers from billions to extinction in the wild by 1900.
Red-billed Queleas
The red-billed quelea is a small weaverbird found in sub-Saharan Africa. Queleas form enormous flocks of millions of birds that travel together between roosting and feeding sites.
A massive quelea flock in flight can block out the sun for over an hour as the birds continuously stream overhead. Their large roosts and foraging flocks can destroy fields of crops.
Snow Geese
Snow geese are Arctic breeding birds that migrate in enormous flocks called “waves” to warmer wintering grounds. Nearly all of the world’s snow geese populations converge in fall and spring along North America’s Central and Mississippi flyways.
Millions of snow geese may be viewed at one time on migration stopovers. Large snow goose flocks erode tundra breeding grounds and destroy agricultural crops on migration routes.
Red Knots
Red knots are sandpiper birds that undertake an annual 9,000 mile migration from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego at South America’s southern tip. Along the migration route, groups of red knots can reach enormous numbers.
For example, San Antonio Oeste in Argentina can host flocks of up to 100,000 red knots as they stop to rest and feed along their marathon migration. Seeing countless red knots spooked into flight is an unforgettable sight.
European Starlings
European starlings are not native to North America, but were introduced from Europe and have thrived on this continent. Huge winter flocks of European starlings numbering over 1 million birds congregate in areas like Rome, New York.
These massive gatherings perform incredible aerial displays called “murmurations” around sunset as they simultaneously wheel and dive in starling clouds that flow like liquid across the sky.
Why Do Birds Form Such Large Flocks?
There are several advantages birds can gain by traveling and living in huge flocks:
Predator Detection
There is safety in numbers for prey species. In a large flock, there are many eyes watching for potential predators like hawks or cats. Being part of a large flock improves vigilance against predators.
Social Benefits
Many bird species are highly social, and large flocks provide opportunities for interactions with many other birds. Flocks have complex social hierarchies and relationships.
Thermoregulation
Staying close together in a dense flock helps birds retain body heat. This is important for small birds in cold climates. Huddling together counteracts heat loss.
Flying Efficiency
The aerodynamics of large flocks may make flying easier for some birds. Upwash from the wingbeats of dense flocks potentially aids lift for trailing birds. Formations like V-shapes also reduce drag.
Foraging Efficiency
Eyes in the flock can help locate good feeding spots. Larger flocks can better exploit rich food resources like anthills or swarms of insects. Dominant flocks at provisioned bird feeders displace smaller groups.
Navigation
Young migratory birds may more successfully find migration routes and destinations when traveling with older birds in large flocks. Social cues help guide inexperienced birds.
Notable Characteristics of Large Bird Flocks
Some incredible qualities stand out in enormous bird flocks:
Synchronous Movement
Large bird flocks exhibit remarkable coordination. Entire huge flocks can turn, swerve, or speed up together simultaneously as if the entire group is one organism. This helps confuse predators.
Shape-Shifting
Watching huge bird flocks like murmurations or snow goose migrations feels like watching living liquid. Bird groups morph their shape continuously, splitting apart and merging in response to disturbances like predator attacks.
Density
Photographs reveal the true density of gigantic bird flocks as amorphous crowds. Masses of birds cluster packed together when flocking for safety, warmth, or mobbing predators.
Sound
The sound of millions of bird wings whistling and flapping in unison is like nothing else. Large flocks produce a throbbing rush of wind noise as they take off or land together.
Speed
Racing pigeon flocks reach average speeds over 70 mph, with the fastest pigeons exceeding 90 mph. Other species like shorebirds fly up to 60 mph in migration flocks.
Threats Facing Large Bird Flocks
Some key threats and challenges confront large bird flocks today:
Habitat Loss
Wetland drainage and development destroys crucial habitat for migrating and wintering waterfowl flocks numbering in the millions. Loss of breeding grounds also threatens flocking seabirds.
Overhunting
As demonstrated by the passenger pigeon’s extinction, hunting can rapidly endanger species that flock in enormous numbers. Limits and protections help conserve flocking game birds.
Climate Change
Shifting climatic conditions, ranges, and phenology disrupt migratory traditions and destinations for huge flocks of Arctic nesters like geese. Flocks must adapt.
Disease
Dense bird colonies enable diseases to rapidly spread. Sick birds may die off in waves, triggering abrupt flock population declines. Prominent examples include House Finch eye disease and puffin beak deformities.
Predators
Some predators like falcons specialize in attacking large bird flocks. Flocks must vigilantly detect ambushes. Predation is part of natural balance but can be excessive near cities.
Pollution
Chemical contamination can move up the food chain and accumulate in large predatory bird flocks like eagles or pelicans, causing eggshell thinning and reproduction issues from DDT, lead poisoning, and other toxins.
Collisions
Windows, wires, lighthouses, and other structures often kill birds in large numbers during migratory flights. Flocks attempting to navigate among tall buildings face collision risks.
Appreciating Vast Bird Flocks
There are many opportunities to observe spectacular bird flocks:
Key Sites
Some locations like Great Salt Lake, Upper Klamath Lake, the Gippsland Lakes, and Santos in Brazil attract millions of birds annually for migration or breeding. Tours and trails offer prime flock viewing.
Migration Flyways
Following the major migration routes across continents provides sightings of enormous flocks on the move. Cliffs, peninsulas, and mountain passes concentrate millions of migrating birds.
Winter Roosts
Urban roosts hosting hundreds of thousands of crows, starlings, or piping plovers provide incredible winter flock displays in the evening as birds swarm to roost.
Nesting Colonies
Seabird colonies containing tens of thousands of murres, cormorants, gannets, penguins, and other species present intense wildlife spectacle. View nesting flocks respectfully from a distance.
Feathers
Look for drifts of thousands of moulted flight feathers under roosts, at nesting sites, or along migration pathways to appreciate the sheer volume of birds represented in large flocks.
Famous Large Flocks in Pop Culture
Gigantic bird flocks have made memorable appearances in books, films, and other media:
The Birds
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 horror film depicts violent attacks by murderous flocks of crows and seagulls. This cult classic introduced many audiences to the ominous idea of huge bird swarms.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
This 1970 novella describes a seagull flock so dense that they “were a thousand miles across, and the slanting sunlight set the whole breadth of them flashing.”
March of the Penguins
This 2005 documentary captures the 60-mile trek of emperor penguin flocks containing tens of thousands of birds in Antarctica as they migrate to breeding colonies.
Winged Migration
A 2001 documentary using aerial footage provides breathtaking perspective on bird migration, including massive flocks of snow geese, storks, and cranes journeying across continents.
Angry Birds
The popular slingshot video game launched in 2009 features iconic flocks of outraged birds used to attack pigs. This simple game brings bird flocking to the digital realm.
Key Facts About Large Bird Flocks
Bird Species | Flock Term | Estimated Flock Size |
---|---|---|
Passenger Pigeon | Cloud | Over 3 billion birds historically |
Red-billed Quelea | Million | Up to 30 million birds |
Snow Goose | Wave | Over 1 million birds |
Red Knot | Flock | Over 100,000 birds |
European Starling | Murmuration | Up to 1 million birds |
Conclusion
Some of nature’s most impressive wildlife spectacles occur when birds flock together in huge numbers. Bird flocks represent some of the largest gatherings of vertebrates on Earth. Coordinated movements of vast bird crowds emerge from local interactions between thousands or millions of individual birds. These great avian congregations form for important reasons like predator protection, sociality, and migration. Though reduced by habitat loss and other threats, immense bird flocks still mass in spectacular migrations and communal roosts. Their flashing, churning aerial maneuvers never fail to amaze lucky human observers. Studying, conserving, and sustainably witnessing these avian multitudes in action represents a vital link to the natural world.