300px, A formation of starlings in the marshlands near Tønder, Denmark">Tønder.html" ;"title="starlings in the marshlands near Tønder">starlings in the marshlands near Tønder, Denmark.
image:Fugle,_%C3%B8rns%C3%B8_073.jpg, 300px, Blick of sort sol
Sort sol is a Flocking (behavior), murmuration, a flocking behavior that occurs in the marshlands in southwestern
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establishe ...
, in particular the marsh near
Tønder
Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality.
History
The first mention of Tønder might ...
and
Ribe
Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,257 (2022). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe covering southwestern Jutland. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality and county. It i ...
. Very large numbers of migratory
starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...
s gather there in spring and autumn when they move between their winter grounds in southern Europe and their summer breeding grounds in Scandinavia and other countries near the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...
.
Sort sol takes place in the hours just after sunset. The birds gather in large flocks and form huge formations in the sky just before they decide for a location to
roost for the night. The movements of the formations have been likened to kind of a dance or ballet and the birds are so numerous that they seem to obliterate the sunset, hence the term "sort sol" (
Danish for "black sun"). Sort sol in the marsh near
Tønder
Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality.
History
The first mention of Tønder might ...
can occasionally comprise a formation with up to one million birds. Usually flocks break up when the number of individuals exceed about half a million birds due to excessive internal disturbances in the flock.
If a predator bird enters the flock, the starlings initiate a veritable bombardment with droppings and vomit that soil the feathers of the predator. In rare cases the sticky deposits may render the predator unable to stay airborne.
See also
*
Flock (birds)
A flock is a gathering of individual birds to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also offers foraging benefits and protection from predators, although flocking can have costs for individ ...
*
Swarm
Swarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by entities, particularly animals, of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving ''en masse'' or migrating in some direction. ...
References
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* (include link to a photo series)
*
External links
7 Incredible Natural Phenomena you've never seen - Denmark's Black Sun no.6
Birds
Earth phenomena
{{ornithology-stub
