Before the toms came I bad been watching the shags and 
the eh- ng© w«s a very abrupt otic which It took as a little tins 
to adapt to. To watch what a. tsm does requires far «or© 
concentration, Sot only are all its soveuentc far quicker but 30 
rrs its changes of "mood", At one moment it is standing on 
Its territory catling at flying birds, the next it runs lit an 
Intruder and flies the last few feet to drive him off before 
hurrying back again. A female visits 'aim but before they have 
been together ©ore than a second or two a sudden panic seems 
to slam the whole colony and both birds sweep out with all their 
neighbours silent except for a few slur* calls# As they wheel 
over the Tettls the earlier cf illng and excitement starts again 
and the birds return to their territories or to the preening 
places on the wo. ter*® edge# ’ 
These curious panic-like performances are a frequent 
feature of the life of the colony, parilfcul&rly during the early 
days at the colony. Indeed one sees the® taking place even 
before the birds alight for the first time in the year on their 
colony area# They ©ay take piece as a reaction to some genuine 
scare", such as a person walking about or they «»ey be precipitated 
by a single bird Whose aud en silent flight out fro® the colony 
towards the sea excites others with a som&on fear, who in their 
turn alar©: their neighbours# In this way the whole colony, 
or a oart of it, nay fly out. Those panics become loss co® on 
as the birds be con© ©ore familiar with the oniony area and Its 
normal equipment of human beings and finally the birds bo cost 
quite blase about even large crowds of visitors# In the same 
way at the end of ho season the panics again become commoner 
before the terns finally leave the island. 
Panics of this kind seen to occur in ©any or all colony 
nesting birds. They are a familiar mxkemy feature of a Send 
Martin col y, There is no doubt that the birds are frightened 
? s they fly away fro® the colony# A natural experiment demonstr- 
ates that the toms durint these panics avoid nit only their 
colony hut land of any kind# At low water springe the In ©r 
Farno is separated fro© the Widoopens by a narrow channel only. 
When the terns ‘panic on the Inner Fame at any other time, 
iey fly away fro© the Fame and t wards it wi deepens, But 
at low water scringe they sees to be deflected by the sight of 
the Widen pens close in front of the® and fly towards the Knox's 
Reef, The pt cing birds not only fly away fro® land but they 
tend to tjuhotk into a flock# The Hying away from land 
orssumablf protects the© fm® ground predators} th > bunching 
is supposed to be a dofehoe against an serial prods tor but it 
la difficult to confirm this. Both types of behaviour take 
place even though there is no sign of the predator against who© 
the activities see® to b© a defence. There seems So evidence 
that the behaviour is anything In the nature of & social display 
as has been suggested# The paniolng birds show no behaviour 
which does not sees to be the outcome of foar. The name of 
panic is suggested at once by th© apparently 
