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That's some amazing chaos theory. And when beetle grubs read Harry Potter, that's what the Deatheaters' Mark looks like.

How do they count them?

It is amazing! It's called "Sort sol" - or "black sun". It's famous in lore and fairytales.

Mind-boggling!

Cool yet scary at the same time. Brings a new meaning to "The Birds."

Amazing but my only question is why? What caused this many birds to congregate and swarm like that?

Swarms are fantastic examples of loosely-coupled structure. There were papers published in the last few years that use cameras and statistical models to determine each bird is keying off of six or seven other birds to track direction shifts. That is all! Completely amazing behavior.

I have a blog entry about the direction shifts at http://floatingbones.com/?p=171 . I include references to the research and a great YouTube video about similar flocks in the UK. Inspiring stuff!

Michael: the direction shifts are to help avoid predators while roosting. Also, the birds do it as a social activity and to sort themselves out. Great info in the video narrative.

"You Shall Not Pass! ...

@Rich -- LOL.

great!