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Safety In Numbers -- Why Thousands Of Birds Move As One

A murmuration of starlings is seen in the sky as the sunset sets. (Scott Heppell/AP Photo)
A murmuration of starlings is seen in the sky as the sunset sets. (Scott Heppell/AP Photo)

Flocks of birds or schools of fish often group together in massive numbers, and move as though they are a single organism with one brain.

The behavior is called a murmuration, and scientists are trying to figure out how — and why — the animals do it.

Paige Pfleger ( @PaigePfleger) of Here & Now contributor WHYY went to a landfill in Atlantic County, New Jersey, to observe the phenomenon firsthand.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.