When birds like these Sanderlings and Dunlin form flocks, each individual is less likely to be captured by a predator. Some shorebirds that forage with their heads down, like godwits, will flock with birds that forage with their heads up, like curlews. Still other birds work together — like American White Pelicans driving fish before them or auklets that surround schools of herring and herd them like a border collie does sheep. The adage safety in numbers also applies to many birds! Listen to the two-minute podcast from BirdNote.
Sanderlings and Dunlins; Photo Credit: Deborah Rivel