Watch this flock of birds form hauntingly beautiful patterns in the sky

If you ever find yourself standing below a large flock of starlings, you'd do well to turn your camera on.

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On Sunday, Al Kitching shared a video on Twitter of a starling murmuration. According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), this is "a mass aerial stunt" which involves "thousands of birds swooping and diving in unison".

The video, which has been shared around 1,400 times, is pretty breathtaking.

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So, why do they do it?

"We think the starlings do it for many reasons," reads the RSPB entry. "Grouping together offers safety in numbers -- predators such as peregrine falcons find it hard to target one bird in the middle of a hypnotising flock of thousands.

"They also gather to keep warm at night and to exchange information, such as good feeding areas."

Kitching also shared some photos of the flock in action:

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Incredible.

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