The spectacle of Rome’s starling migration comes at a messy cost

They are one of the world’s most common bird species, but Rome stands out in Europe as one of their primary gathering points, write Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli

A sunset sky full of starlings beginning their night murmuration as seen from the Altare della Patria in Piazza Venezia in Rome (Photo for The Washington Post by Federica Valabrega)

This time of year in Rome, the evening sky is a marvel.

Just before sunset, there among the cupolas, starlings mass by the hundreds of thousands, performing an aerial dance. They dip and soar, bunch together and spread out. Seen from the ground, their ephemeral parabolas look like calligraphic brushstrokes.

But when the sun sets, the magic ends. The birds descend – and wreak havoc.