page_title: Flock (birds)
section_title: Black sun
hierarchical_section_title: Flock (birds) / Black sun
caption_attribution_description: Dansk: En stærefolk danner fascinerende formationer i luften over Tøndermarsken.English: Starlings forming fascinating formations over Tøndermarsken, south-west Jutland, Denmark. Image from http://www.pdfnet.dk. Material is in Public Domain.
context_page_description: A flock is a gathering of a group of same species animals in order to forage or travel with one another. In avians flocks are typically seen in association with migration. While this is true it can also be seen that flocking is important in safety from predation and foraging benefits. Living in a flock can also come at a cost to the birds living within it.
  The definition of flock is narrow, only focusing on a single species existing within a flock. However the existence of mixed flocks are also present in the environment and consist of at least two or more species. In avians the species that tend to flock together are typically similar in taxonomy as well as morphological characters such as size and shape. By having a flock with multiple species present, the defence against predation increases. Defence against predators is particularly important in closed habitats such as forests where early warning calls play a vital importance in the early recognition of danger. The result is the formation of many mixed-species feeding flocks.
context_section_description: In the Denmark, there is a biannual phenomenon known as sort sol (Danish for "black sun"). This is when flocks of European starlings gather in vast numbers, creating complex shapes against the sky during the spring. It is during this time spent in Denmark that the European starlings spend time gathering food and resting as part of their migration journey. By being in groups this large the European starlings are able to decrease their risk of predation by hawks.
caption: Flock of birds demonstrating the Sort Sol
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