A murder of crows, a pride of lions, a labor of moles. The names for groups of animals can sometimes poetically evoke qualities of the group that the species in singular numbers often defy. Consider a murmuration of starlings, as captured in the photograph below.

Yes, starlings. Often maligned, always under-appreciated, the gleaming invaders -- they are exotic birds, brought here from Europe -- when they take flight in a group have a captivating beauty as they, yes, murmur through the sky.

Have look at this video of canoeists on the River Shannon in Ireland encountering a murmuration, by Sophie Windsor Clive and Liberty Smith, of Islands and Rivers:
http://vimeo.com/31158841

If you can't get enough of this sort of thing, here are some more treats, from Dot Earth