Starling sightings in P.E.I.? These U.K. researchers want to know

A group of scientists in the U.K. say they are getting closer to solving the mystery behind starling murmurations, and say information about sightings in P.E.I. could help them.

A murmuration is when thousands of birds gather together and fly as a group, forming swirling aerial patterns in the sky.

The University of Gloucestershire and the U.K.-based Royal Society of Biology are compiling a citizen science survey, asking for publicreports of sightings from across the globe includingCanada and the U.S.

They're charting the length and circumstances around the murmurations.

"Very, very little is known about why starlings murmurate, despite the fact that it is such an incredible spectacle to witness," said ornithologistAnneGoodenough, who is heading up the research.

"It's sometimes referred to as the ballet of the skies.They aren't just flocking together from A to B, they are actually creating shapes in the sky, splitting up, coming back together, it can sometimes look like smoke billowing across the surface of the reed bed or marshland, or whatever they're flying above."

'Safety in numbers'

Scientists don't know much about the reasons behind thephenomenon, which primarily occurs in the fall and winter.

One theory is it'san anti-predator strategy.

"Most birds tend to hunt by getting a focus lock on one individual, and if you're moving around in a 3-D mass of starlings, it's much more difficult for a bird of prey to get and maintain focus lock,"Goodenoughsaid.

"It could be a way of those birds trying to get safety in numbers."

Another theory, said Goodenough, isthe birds could be trying to attract larger numbers to roost within order to stay warmer during the winter months.

Populations in decline

Sstarling numbers have been declining rapidly in the UK. Since the mid-1970s the population therehas fallen by 66 per cent.

Overall, numbers are up in Canada and the U.S., butnot in P.E.I., where populations are also declining.

One of the most popular spots to see the starlings on P.E.I. is under theHillsborough bridge in Charlottetown. Up to 10,000 European starlings have been counted thereat dawn and dusk.

Public encouraged to fill our survey

Researchers are encouraging anyone who has seen starling murmurations to fill out the onlinesurvey, which takes about 30 seconds to complete.

It can be found on the Royal Society of Biology website, or on Twitter at @starling_survey.

"The only way that we're going to be able to uncover the secret of murmuration is by getting a lot of data from as many different places as possible," saidGoodenough.

The study will wrap up at the end of April.