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From the ‘Animals Are Smart’ Department, A Hawk Uses Stoplights to Hunt

Tibi Puiu writing for ZME Science:

In the winter of 2021–2022, at an intersection in West Orange, New Jersey, [Vladimir Dinets] repeatedly saw a juvenile Cooper’s hawk wait for a specific sound — the pedestrian crossing signal that chirped when someone pressed the walk button. That sound meant the light would stay red for 90 seconds instead of 30, enough time for cars to pile up along the curb. Once the cars stretched far enough to reach a bushy tree near the intersection, the hawk would appear.

Perched low and hidden behind the car queue, the raptor would bide its time. Then it flew — low, swift, and nearly invisible beneath the canopy of vehicles — before crossing the street and plunging into a yard frequented by sparrows, doves, and starlings. They gathered each morning to feed on crumbs left behind by a family that dined outdoors the night before. The hawk struck with shocking accuracy.

Animal adaption to human encroachment. I love that an academic paper came of this.

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