Visitors in Rome during the fall and early winter might notice the hypnotizing swirls of small black birds, flying in synchronized patterns in the sky, much like those massive schools of fish you might see in the ocean.  These are starlings, a type of bird whose large flocks simultaneously entertain and wreak havoc on Rome’s population once a year.  You can hear them murmuring in unison, especially along the trees of Rome’s Tibur river, or observe their flight formations from the Capitoline Hill.

These otherwise harmless feathered-friends unfortunately cause lots of damage to the city’s cars, streets, and monuments with all those droppings, and have even caused a few problems at Rome’s airports in recent years.  The city of Rome has since teamed up with environmental groups and Fauna Urbis to find a humane solution.  They have managed to keep the starling situation under control by utilizing an artificial starling “distress sound” to move stationary flocks along who occasionally stop to roost.

While it’s true that the starlings are unintentionally a nuisance to monuments, parked cars, and people passing underneath, there is something very special about these birds.  These starlings have been around since Ancient Rome, when they were seen in a much different light.  In Ancient Rome these flocks of birds were observed from the Capitoline Hill by oracles, high above the Roman Forum, where they would watch the formations in order to interpret the wishes of the gods.  Just imagine- what today is considered an unnecessary phenomena or nuisance was once a sign from the divine!

So if you should find yourself in Rome during starling season, enjoy it!  Because the starlings, just like the ruins scattered underneath them, are all creating the means for you to experience Rome’s rich and distant past.