  Collective motion of bird flocks can be explained via the hypothesis of many
wrongs, and/or, a structured leadership mechanism. In pigeons, previous studies
have shown that there is a well-defined hierarchical structure and certain
specific individuals occupy more dominant positions --- suggesting that
leadership by the few individuals drives the behavior of the collective.
Conversely, by analyzing the same data-sets, we uncover a more egalitarian
mechanism. We show that both reciprocal relationships and a stratified
hierarchical leadership are important and necessary in the collective movements
of pigeon flocks. Rather than birds adopting either exclusive averaging or
leadership strategies, our experimental results show that it is an integrated
combination of both compromise and leadership which drives the group's movement
decisions.
