Stunning footage of bird formation in the shape of a smiling meerkat

By Fiona Jackson via SWNS

This stunning footage shows a starling murmuration forming the shape - of a meerkat's head.

George Varley, 40, went out to record the birds at Potteric Carr Nature Reserve in Doncaster, England, earlier this month.

It was only when he got home and looked back at his video that he noticed the birds had flown in a formation that resembled a meerkat's head.

Other stills of the video appear to show a kestrel, a seal and a sheep.

George, from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, said: "I thought it looked like Snoopy at first glance, but then I started seeing the meerkat image like other people had mentioned.

"I saw the eye form then the smiling mouth and decided to cut the image and make it into a still frame."

The Non-destructive Testing Technician is also a keen wildlife photographer and regularly visits nature reserves to watch the flocking starlings.

He said: "Finally I had got the starlings making shapes of animals which I had wanted to capture for a while.

"Maybe the starlings had got the meerkat idea from spending time at the Yorkshire wildlife park which is close to the reserve?"

The video was taken on January 9, 2022.