Watch: Rosy starlings dazzle Delhi’s sky

It’s that time of year again when Delhi’s expansive green spaces across the city — India Gate, Lodhi Garden, and other parks rich with fruit-bearing trees — transform into grand stages for one of nature’s most captivating aerial spectacles. As dusk falls, the skies above these parks come alive with swirling black-pink clouds of birds, twisting and turning in perfect synchrony.

The performers are rosy starlings, medium-sized migratory birds with glossy black heads and pale pink bodies. And the phenomenon they create is known as a murmuration — a term for the coordinated, wave-like movements of birds flying in flocks that resemble a shifting, breathing cloud.

Birders say these rosy starlings are passage migrants, making a brief but spectacular stopover in Delhi as they journey back from their wintering grounds in west and south India and Sri Lanka to their breeding habitats in Central Asia and Europe.

The Capital, with its abundance of flowering and fruit-bearing trees, offers a perfect pause along their long journey.

Captivating flocks, usually consisting of hundreds of starlings, will be easy to spot till the end of the month. Murmurations are only seen twice in Delhi — first in April, and then, sporadically, in August.

“Murmurations are most prominent in April,” said birder Kanwar B Singh. “These birds begin their return migration around mid-March, and Delhi provides them ample food and secure roosting sites. We’re seeing large congregations, especially around areas such as India Gate, where fruiting trees attract them in the evenings and serve as a communal roosting spot.”

While murmuration can also be seen in August — when the birds begin their southward journey — Singh explained that they tend to be more scattered during that phase. “In August, their movements are more spread out. But in April, their routes converge, the trees are fruiting, and the murmurations become tighter, larger, and far more visible. In a way, this is the best time of the year to see them in action.”

The phenomenon is not just visually spectacular — it serves a practical purpose.

Nikhil Devasar, another veteran birder, who also organises the Big Bird Day count across the National Capital Region every year, said murmuration happens primarily for three key reasons — safety in numbers, communication and coordination, and warmth and energy saving.

“What is happening in the city these days, including places like India Gate, is communication and coordination. The starlings gather in murmurations before roosting for the night. It’s a way for them to share information—like where to find food—or to collectively pick a safe place to sleep. It’s social and strategic.”

Devasar added that the starlings’ behaviour is typical of the species. “They don’t stick around for too long. Delhi is just a pit stop in their larger migration, but because of the specific conditions in the city, we get to see this spectacle twice a year,” he said.

Faiyaz Khudsar, scientist in-charge of the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) biodiversity parks programme, said the phenomenon is also frequently observed across Delhi’s biodiversity parks. “Rosy starlings tend to favour areas with dense canopy and fruiting trees. We’ve observed them feeding on Salvadora berries and mulberries, and their numbers remain high through late April,” he said.

Backlit by the golden spring light, the murmurations ripple and coil above the city, a fleeting wonder that has inspired both science and poetry. In a city often consumed by chaos and concrete, these swirling clouds of birds offer a rare moment of natural beauty.