pica

murmuration v1: basic boids

a flocking simulation based on craig reynolds’ boids algorithm (1986). each bird follows three simple rules: maintain distance from neighbors, match their direction, and move toward the group center.

move your mouse over the canvas — the flock avoids you like a predator.

about boids

starling murmurations are one of nature’s most striking examples of emergent behavior. thousands of birds moving as one fluid mass, never colliding, responding instantly to threats.

the boids model shows how complex global patterns emerge from simple local rules. no leader, no central coordination. just individual birds paying attention to their neighbors.

this version uses a fixed 50px perception radius — simple but not quite how real starlings work. they track specific neighbors regardless of distance. see v2 for topological neighbors based on actual starling research.