Vol 1 fif XIT ] Tyler, Simultaneous Action. 203 



and not one after another. Naturally the commencement of the 

 stillness is rarely observed, — I can only say that it takes place 

 quickly, — but the period of immobility and the liberation from it 

 I have seen often. Not a bird moves until the spell is broken, 

 and when the release comes, it comes at once to every bird. 



These Chickadees, very likely, are resting while they digest their 

 recent meal, but that the necessity for rest should come to each 

 bird at the same instant and persist for exactly the same time 

 implies something more than chance; it suggests a relationship 

 between the members of the flock, similar to that which, binding 

 together a flock of Sparrows, enables them to start into the air in a 

 body. The life of a bird is made up of cycles ; in the great yearly 

 cycle, which includes the breeding period and moult, preceded and 

 followed by migration, birds over wide areas of country act (owing 

 probably to physiological reasons) in fairly close unison. But how 

 much closer must be the relationship between the members of a 

 flock of birds in the daily cycle, during the winter months, when, 

 with sexual jealousies dormant, they roam about amicably in search 

 of food! Is it not possible that the need of food, the desirability of 

 rest and the necessity for a safe night's shelter is perceived by the 

 flock as a whole; that, acting as a unit, the sum of the intelligence 

 of all the members of a flock keeps the company together, provides 

 it with food and maintains a continuous watch for danger? 



Psychologists recognize in the human race a subconscious power 

 of thought-transference which, although proved beyond a doubt 

 to exist, is rendered uncertain and made difficult to study because 

 it is obscured and held in check by our "objective" mind, — our 

 every-day, reasoning, thinking mind. This psychical power, 

 telepathy, is defined as " the conveyance of thought or feelings from 

 mind to mind by other than ordinary channels of sense." (Ency- 

 clopedia Britannica, 11th Ed., Vol. XXVI, p. 546). 



When we realize that in animals the objective mind, — the bar- 

 rier to telepathic action, — is, compared to our minds, slightly 

 developed, is it not only possible, but even probable that birds 

 possess greater telepathic power than man (to an extent inversely 

 proportional, perhaps, to the development of their respective 

 reasoning — objective — minds) and that this telepathic power is 

 responsible for their concerted actions? 



