Falcon Attack: Peregrine Divebombs Flock of Starlings

A Peregrine Falcon repeatedly divebombs a flock of starlings coming home to roost. Shot at dusk from the racetrack roof of the old FIAT factory in Torino Italy. Starlings roost in the center atrium of the building at night.

[@easyadventurer]

I love how synchronised they all are. It looks like they're just one organism.

[@cptbfrank]

actually they can indeed get injured. I work with falcons. Two while hunting managed to get stuck with a beak when hitting thier prey at high speeds. One of these also managed to break her tibia from hitting so hard. As well he have had simple sprains and the like. And yet another managed to break a wing when she struck a telephone line coming out of a stoop. Make no mistake they can and do get injured on occasion while stooping. the falcon with the broken wing took time but she can fly again

[@mafrek]

wow nice! and the starlings are like watch a really weird lava lamp.

[@synthdef1668]

Delta formation!!! Omega formation!!! Gamma!!! C'mon Stars, this is what we train for

[@cukooman7]

Falcon: "Fox Two!" *attacks bird*

[@spyderz1303]

The habit starlings, rooks and other birds have, of flying around in a tight flock is designed to confuse and intimidate predators. The scene outside my house resembled Hitchcock's film "The Birds" once, as a peregrine attempted to kill and butcher a rook on my neighbour's doorstep as the peregrine was mobbed by all the others. Their preferred method of hunting is to get one on it's own, so the rest don't interfere. That is what the falcon is trying to do here, by breaking up the flock.

[@CarlLefrancois]

I've seen that sight in the sky when living in southern Ontario. Thanks for posting!

[@Kostly]

To add, the peregrine looks like it did not "knock" any starlings "senseless" in this video. Notice how they tighten the group when they see the falcon approaching the flock.This is tactical. It gives the falcon a smaller but, denser target until just the right moment when the flock expands to evade. IF you ask me, they are toying with the falcon.Almost begging it to come at them. Peregrine are fast as hell, but, at those high speeds, they cannot manuveur as well as the individual starlings.

[@mutterschied]

Fabulous fortunate moment to catch these images. Thanks, bro!!

[@spyderz1303]

@KostlyHow many birds were in that flock? Thousands and thousands of them. They blacken the sky! They are as smart as primates! We had some balls of bird food in the garden, which the rooks started to go for, so I tied them on a piece of string about 18 inches long, so the rooks couldn't reach down and collar them. I watched a rook reach down, get hold of the string, put his foot on the string when he had lifted it, reach down again and do the same till he got his food reward! Smart or what?

[@Kostly]

Starlings are smart birds. The peregrine is one of the fastest, if not the fastest. IF you think this is an easy get for the peregrine you just dont know Starlings. They fly like that for hours on end and know exactly what is going on in this scenario.

[@girlinagale]

Ah fantastic, reminds me of when I've seen starlings like that, but with a falcon diving at them just beautiful to watch.

[@WeBorn2DieAnyTime]

Thank you for sharing!

[@spagamoto]

Really cool how the starlings react to the incoming dive.

[@busybeemovies]

The mic was on the camera but little background noise because I was on the old Fiat factory rooftop about 8 stories up

[@falconryandwildlifevideos6200]

beautiful footage !

[@climateinvestigationscente645]

thank you. I wish I had had a higher res camera, but it was shot with an SLR on video function and it was 2006

[@lexagon77]

flocks of starlings are surreal!

[@ramariel]

its like watching a school of fish in the sky

[@calebumaga]

They look like a cartoon bee swarm for some reason.

[@CatsLairArchives]

As a friend would say, That Falcon really denied them the airspace.

[@Nakiito9]

They are like "¡Ole, Ole!".

[@ikuo1]

great footage thanks alot. I recetly discovered some peregrines and aim to get some footage of them too.

[@Kostly]

@spyderz1303 HAHAH That is awesome. We have a Starling pet. He was rescued from a fall from the nest after only days after being hatched. Thankfully, the young girl who found him/her (we're not really sure what gender it is) was smart enough to know how to find out how to take care of him/her if she didn't know already. We responded to her Craigslist ad and offered to adopt him/her. We named him/her "Ichiban" which means number 1 or "the best" in Japanese. You should hear him...

[@Renville80]

Unfortunately the starling is an invasive species in North America, and they have been known to harass and kill native species in their nests, like bluebirds.

[@birdybirdforever]

Looks like she got one at the end. It was mesmerizing watching the flock of starlings twist and bunch.

[@5burowz]

That is incredible footage!

[@ivoryfive82]

Starling leader - Well guys, I guess the party's over. Starlings - Awe, WHY?!?!? Starling Leader - Hello Idiots!! There's a FUCKIN FALCON OUT HERE!!...DUHH!

[@mtseaoneloft]

Nice video !!!

[@DavidCurryFilms]

Epic! Two amazing bird phenomena at once :D

[@Ratherfish90]

they do that to evade predators, in a big flock its hard to distinguish 1 bird from the whole group.

[@mattevanswastaken]

great video

[@Kostly]

@spyderz1303 Great mimicry. He can say a few different phrases. He says his name, "Ichiban". He asks for you to "gimme kiss" and then follows that up with "Thank you". He can whistle like no other. LOL Whistles like a human. He's an absolute gift and quite a riot.

[@nathhowe]

EXCELLENT video, thanks!!

[@marcdirector]

beautiful natural scenery

[@thinkofwhy]

Notice how the flock compresses just as the falcon attacks each time. This is the reason for flocking, to confuse the predator. The falcon cannot catch a bird if it can't focus on that bird. When the flock increases its density, the falcon loses focus on the single bird it was going to catch. It spherically compresses in unison. So how do the starlings on the opposite side of the attack know when to compress?

[@foxy358]

nice, great vid. poetry in motion

[@ImSoOffended]

the only good starling is a dead starling... we need more falcons

[@KBurchfiel]

So cool! Plenty of starlings to go around :-)

[@Kostly]

@spyderz1303 That is their strategy, for sure. A very, VERY difficult strategy to execute and it requires sacrifice of self. How many birds were in that flock? ALL of them knew they could be the one that gets God slammed by the falcon. Yet, they all commit, for the greater good. And percetage wise, they're WAY ahead. These are some of the smartest birds on the planet.

[@MrMikethc]

This reminds me of a bird diving underwater to catch fish. Amazing!

[@alwaysupononewheel]

It seems like a very smart defense for the flock to become more dense as the bird of prey is about to attack.

[@54spiritedwill54]

Cool video.

[@maryannc5650]

That's a good question, and one that researchers are trying to figure out.

[@distortiontildeafness]

i feel something so strange when I watch this

[@ultraflash]

Is that noise the Falcon's jet engine? Mother Nature is really developing those birds of prey to protect them from extinction!

[@greenkert]

yes, the fastest bird in the world

[@DexMichael]

Yeeeee! Dat jank was sweet. Isn't the peregrine considered the fastest animal in the world? that's what I heard, or at least one of.

[@GrahamChapman]

Hmms... Variation of a John Benfield quote I believe?

[@Gold139]

@jazzyfl1 with that many birds gathered the falcon couldnt aim at one particular bird, so the starlings had more chance to survive...

[@howtogetwell]

Where's the microphone? You can hear the wings against the air when the falcon passes through the flock.

[@markandrach]

not much of an expert then. and pigeons do not fly in a group or with agility of those starlings which are grouping ready to nest for the night.

[@joedm]

pow right in the kisser

[@blademanx]

flying in formation creepy...no technology just natura rythm

[@cowman1970]

Anway, I like your profile. Very pretty if I might add. It's only a compliment :)

[@BrainGuy45]

242 miles per hour! fastest creature on earth by far.

[@JK-yi9gk]

nope

[@aguilonmontenegro]

Looks like a black moving ball in air.

[@Kostly]

@easyadventurer Consciousness is a beautiful thing.

[@raptors666]

uqe video hermano, la verdad que esta demaciado bueno, lastima que dure tan poco y mi pregunta es, si alcanzo a cazar una paloma ya que el halcon estaba muy aferrado por una paloma... saludos....

[@caitlmac1]

I have a video that shows a few clips of a falcon hunting shorebirds and it looks very similar. The birds remind me of schools of fihs being hunted by larger predators.

[@Kostly]

@TokyoFreeze79 Seriously? Why? Did they "encroach" on your farmland?

[@Kostly]

@MoonshineMethExpress LOL.....AGAIN, Consciousness is a beautiful thing.

[@cowman1970]

Cool video. These birds are so filthy that even the cats won't eat them. We had a hawk fly into our barn and snatch a starling. Talk about a loud scream.....

[@youutoobe]

good video...

[@Firecloud500]

Aren't Perigrines the fastst animal on Earth? I read they dive from miles up going 200 km an hour or something like that.

[@shawnmclean7932]

Faster. 240 miles per hour.

[@POKEMONF2000]

@Darkmessenger1000 star 1:incoming guys its joe! star2 huh aaahhh *donk* star 1 nooo steve everyone scatter (jet sound) eeeeeer! lol

[@LoveValentineXO]

@teddy821 Most likely hunting. He would probably be playing if his kill was already dead. They've been known to drop their dead prey, then dive bomb after it to catch it before it hits the ground.

[@Johnstravelvlog]

cool beans, kinda freaky but that may have been the point, thy were sticking together to scare off that other bird.

[@SofaKingJAD3D]

Awesome

[@thatstrueyousay]

awesome

[@christosswc]

Split-s and hit the deck lol!

[@keltyk]

Was that just one falcon making repeated attempts? (well maybe there were several in a queue... ha-ha..? OK, dumb question) It didn't appear to succeed and proves the grouping strategy effective

[@squanto2]

TRUE!

[@milvus17]

Read the title...

[@Seif5034]

cool vid

[@myheadphones2]

Amazing.

[@EckosamaGhostTsushima]

those starlings, that falcon sucks at getting them.

[@eyes2theskiesUK]

Falcons after a snack!

[@DavidCurryFilms]

@MrInsanolun Hehehe!

[@cowman1970]

What do you mean????

[@rampagggg]

looks like UFO

[@Weeela]

Amazing.. crazy animal!

[@hames84]

yes ı can

[@SELASSIEMANTOMWAILER]

jah bless..nice video

[@anacarolinaroldao472]

👍👍👍👍.

[@youpippo81]

they have a bird named dack norris in there!! the one that got snatched at the end...dack will find his way back after a 2 hrs adventure into the realm of the falcon...to be continued....hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh XD

[@callunas]

that's awesome, how do they fly without hitting each other?

[@kiarazoccogoldenbonniegirl1641]

They do

[@r0nnie123]

swans

[@CarsonEllsworth]

that was cool

[@thepostfk]

can anybody explain to me why birds fly around like that, pidgeons around here do that all the time

[@kiarazoccogoldenbonniegirl1641]

Survival insticts, the number of members is the force of survival, unlike the Starlings, trained Pigeons starts to fly high so Hawks and Falcons can't catch them

[@JenoJen06]

LMFAO, literally this made me laugh for over an hour. I kept thinking about it and would start laughing all over again.

[@wispers187]

@Darkmessenger1000 wheres JOE?! JOOOOOOOEEEEEE!!!

[@belgischufomeldpunt]

Hello greenkert, do you have a e-mailadres so we can contact you?

[@greenkert]

yes, where can I email or message you directly?

[@milosit]

Huh?

[@mauritskramer2430]

NICO BAKKERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[@St.FighterZ]

I hope he kills 5 a day. Very awesome footage man! Just crazy. Those birds were geekin out lol

[@jjojjorge]

Gradually lower and lower altitude the starling do, hoping the falcon crashes to death.

[@AnntichristSCoulter]

Starlings never cease to amaze me, I'm fascinated by how they move as one creature, almost, as if it's all choreographed by their DNA. Could definitely use some birds of prey around here (NOLA), though, the fuckin' seagulls are DISGUSTING. Wouldn't want them gobbling-up the house wrens, though, I love them. Is there any particular bird that eats only seagulls? Very-evil DisneyWorld needs them, as well, if they exist --- fuckin' KAMIKAZE seagulls @ Space Mountain!

[@jusk2ru]

SEE, people! Even birds can work in team...

[@MrMrmuslim20]

خرش قلوبهم

[@rEMiXCoD2n4]

outbrained