hello I am a physicist studying collective animal behaviour, both at the experimental and theoretical level. I have been working in particular on flocks of starling (Sturnus vulgaris):
http://www.pnas.org/content/105/4/1232 http://www.pnas.org/content/107/26/11865.full here is a less technical account of my work: http://blog.allaboutbirds.org/2013/02/21/how-do-starling-flocks-create-those-mesmerizing-murmurations/ lab page: http://www.sapienza.isc.cnr.it/biological-systems/flocking.html my lab is in Rome, but I am currently a visiting Professor of Physics at the Graduate Center, CUNY, in New York City. I am considering to set up a lab in NYC to perform the same experimental activity on starling flocks as the one I run in Rome. in our field experiments we use a multi-camera system to take 3-dimensional images of large flocks of starling, during their evening aerial display over their roost. by large I mean of order 1000 individuals, but also flocks in the 100s are interesting for us. we normally do that from the top of some public buildings in the city center of Rome, where starlings have very substantial roosting sites. all this happens during winter months. you can get an idea of our experimental setup here: http://www.sapienza.isc.cnr.it/component/content/article/86-research/247-cobbs-flocking-experiment-setup.html since I've arrived in NYC last September I've seen no flocking activity of starlings, despite the large number of starlings all around. this was somewhat disappointing, in view of my planned experimental activity. here are my questions: are you aware of any starling flocking activity in NYC? are you aware of any reliable roosting/flocking site for starlings in NY state, possible close to NYC? are you aware of any other bird species forming large flocks in this area? thank you for your help regards Andrea Cavagna Initiative for the Theoretical Sciences The Graduate Center - CUNY 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016 USA -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
