There's a lot of truth to the old adage 'birds of a feather flock together', and here's everything you need to know about a flock of birds.
Why do birds travel in a flock?
There are several reasons that a flock of birds travels together, but the main one is safety. Many birds instinctively travel in flocks because they know doing so will protect them from getting picked off by predators. It's more intimidating for a predator to enter a large group of animals such as a flock, than it is for the predator to simply pick off an animal that's hanging out by itself.
A predator, such as an eagle, may go after a bird that's traveling in a flock and come out with nothing. Being surrounded by so many moving animals makes the predator confused and often prevents them from a successful hunt.
A flock of birds will alert other birds in the flock when it sees or senses danger. Having 20 friends looking out for your well being increases your chances of survival and makes getting around a whole lot easier.
When you see a flock of birds, look closely at the kinds of birds that are traveling together. Birds that travel in flocks tend to be smaller birds. You won't see an eagle traveling in a flock because it can defend itself. However, if little birds travel in a flock of birds, they have a better chance of ganging up and pecking at a predator that comes rumbling through.
A flock of birds is also more likely to stay on track. Birds have built in radar, but it's not perfect. A flock exercises the two heads are better than one theory and decreases the probability of getting lost.
How do they do it?
A flock of birds has impeccable flying and communication skills. If they didn't, they would crash into each other and flying in a flock of birds would be more hazardous than flying solo. Birds that are flying in a flock of birds always try to keep a safe distance from each of its neighbors. Birds set the distance between themselves based on the adjacent bird's pivot. This differs between each flock.
Birds in a flock of birds also have a good grasp on how fast to fly. They set a cruise control of sorts so that when the birds in the front slow down, the others follow suit, avoiding a potentially costly collision. A flock of birds follows flying rules in order to protect each bird from predators and crashes.
