Zvuky Prahy / Sounds of Prague

terénní nahrávky, zvukové umění, rádio, zvukové procházky
field recordings, sound art, radio, sound walks

Starlings gathering on the žofín

Creator: milos (Miloš Vojtěchov...)
Submitted: 2020-04-10
Recorded: 2020-04-07
Licence: Creative Commons Licence
Download: spaccislovan.mp3

On the 24th day of the pandemic emergency suddenly arrived a flock of starlings in the center of Prague. during my walk across the piazza of the National Theater into an unusually quiet atmosphere, a high polyphonic whistle penetrated my ears from the direction of the old building. The sounds led me to a tall tree on Slovanský Island. Starlings regularly in spring visit the Prague, as far as I know, they usually spend the night in the outskirts, for example in the Slatina district or by the lakes of Horni Počernice. Since it was almost dark, I could not count how many birds decided to sleep on the island, I would estimate several thousand. The English term for such a bird convention is murmuration, but it could just as well be called a soundcamp.