People say there's a 'glitch in the matrix' after seeing group of birds freeze instantly

When The Matrix gave us that famous scene where Neo sees a black cat appear twice in a row, it coined one of many hugely influential ideas - a glitch that undermines reality.

In the dystopian movie's case, it was a clue that things were not as they seemed and the baddies had made a nefarious tweak to the world's code - but it's crazy how often people see things in real life that feel just the same.

Case in point, a clip that's gone viral of a woman feeding a flock of birds in a pen - all relatively normal, until just a second or two into the video when all of the birds freeze at almost exactly the same time.

We go from watching them doing some normal pecking and hopping to what looks like around 100 birds standing absolutely stock still - and it's downright eerie how they all hold their positions.

Cue loads of comparisons to that moment in The Matrix - could this be a glimpse into the sinister truths underpinning our world?

Well, we've all got one brave bird to thank for breaking the spell, because there's a single fowl in the group who flies in the face of groupthink and keeps pecking away at its seed, confirming that some birds have their priorities straight.

For all we know this could be a result of a whole heap of birds having a 'freeze' instinct at the same time in response to some perceived threat or shock - but either way, people have been predictably loving it on social media.

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Some have been trying to focus on rational explanations, but others have just been loving the energy of that sole moving bird, who doesn't appear to give a hoot about what the flock expects from him.

It's also not the only "glitch" that's been doing the rounds recently - recently we've seen a whole spate of clips where people spotted planes in the air looking like they weren't moving.

Of course, in each case, it's actually just a matter of perspective, camera movement and speed making it seem like things are more paranormal than they are, but there's no denying how weird these clips can be on the first viewing.