jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Put just two commercial jets above the United States, and there's a chance they will collide, even with all their electronic safety features. Put several hundred thousand birds into a swirling mass, and none will collide.

https://sploid.gizmodo.com/i-cant-believe-theres-not-a-single-collision-in-this-ma-1820763087

Jack47 Loc: Ontario

[quote=jerryc41]Put just two commercial jets above the United States, and there's a chance they

Mom taught them how to drive. 😀😀

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

[quote=Jack47]

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Mandatory flight school.

MichaelH Loc: NorCal via Lansing, MI

I am almost positive I saw two wings touch at 00:41.
I have seen this a few times and it is very neat to watch.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, I noticed that, but I think the angle of view gave the wrong impression.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Never really thought about it. Thanks for posting

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

I don't know if birds never "collide". If they touch wings when in a flock they don't fall out of the sky. It is inconceivable to me that mid airs with birds never happens.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

They do occasionally collide with our picture window however (sadly).

SteveR Loc: Michigan

That's good, Jerry, but riding my bike 35 years ago around the lake near us, a bird flew into my head.

firtree Loc: Florida, USA

They are Not on their smart phones.

machia Loc: NJ

I never thought about this . Interesting .

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Maybe not the birds, but the bees.................

MJKilpatrick Loc: Cape May, NJ

Hi Jerry......interesting questions as to whether birds collide with one another in flight. It is rare but does happen......but birds are amazing equipped to deal with the three dimension space they live in where we are two dimensional space oriented. Where we only have a left, right, forward or back when walking on a crowded sidewalk, birds also have up and down options. Plus their eye sight is not like ours. Ours is very forward focused, birds see out of each side and their eye functions and placement give them vision in a much broader aspect of what is to the left, right, front, back and up and down. Usually a bird will turn its head sideways to look at you not forward like we are accustomed with people.

There has been several research projects to study this and evidence points that when a flock of birds is headed to another flock, or towards another oncoming obstacle, they all tend to bend/turn to the right (I am sure there is some difference between all the various species out there)........but most turn to the right. So on oncoming flock about to fly into another flock will find them both bending/turning away from one another. There is also evidence that when having to fly into something in the air head on, about half the birds in the flock will go up and to the right, the other half below the oncoming thing to the right..........so the flock all peals off in the same direction but some go high, so go low. It uncertain why they do this but it could be associated with predator evasion. I have watched flocks of shorebirds coming and going in close proximity during the spring migration and it was obvious that they seemed not only synchronized inside their flock but also seemingly synchronized with other flocks as to how each would bend or turn. Pretty interesting........I know I have moments when I am walking towards someone on a sidewalk that we both take steps left, then right, then left till we both smile and then step aside and pass each other.......we are no so instinctively synchronized but birds, especially in flight, do seem to be such.

Birds also react quickly........quicker than we can often see when watching them.......add their broader vision, their quick reaction and their propensity to bend/turn away in different directions and they seem to have found ways to avoid a crowded sky.

There are times in flocks where they do hit......but its more bumping than colliding......a large flock flowing at same rate and same direction tends to limit any in air touching to bumping rather than colliding........kinda the same aspect as a head on collision in a car verses and rear end collision.......the relative velocity when they are in synchronized flight is very low so they do bump but adjust and react quickly. Most collision, or bumping, in a flock happens in take off. I was observing a huge flock of starlings bathing in a roadside puddle........with a couple hundred birds masses in such a small area there were obvious bumps when they would flush up as vehicles passed but once they are in air space they are very away and being adapted to the three dimensional space they rarely run into one another. I have seen this bumping in large flocks of shorebirds when they flush up off the beach.......they do bump from time to time but nothing like colliding head to head.

With My Best.

jimcrna Loc: indiana/florida

thx for that explanation.outstading.