Smart Hawk Uses City Traffic Signal To Hunt Birds!
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A young Cooper's hawk in West Orange, New Jersey, has stunned scientists by using a pedestrian crosswalk as a hunting tool. This behavior marks a rare instance in which a bird of prey takes advantage of human infrastructure for survival.
Vladimir Dinets, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, first noticed the hawk’s unusual tactic in the winter of 2021. The zoologist was driving his daughter to school when he saw the bird swoop by a line of stopped cars. Dinets noticed the same behavior a few days later. Realizing it might not be a coincidence, he decided to investigate.
Dinets followed the hawk’s movements for 18 days for a total of 12 hours. Each day, the hawk waited on a low branch near the pedestrian crossing, listening for the signal’s click. When pedestrians crossed, the red light stayed on longer — extending from 30 to 90 seconds — and a line of cars formed. Once the line of cars reached house #8 (see image above), the hawk swooped low and flew behind the vehicles. This kept it hidden from its prey as it moved along the sidewalk.
At house #1, the bird made a sharp 90-degree turn. It slipped behind car bumpers and crossed the street to the front yard of house #2. The family living there often ate dinner outdoors. The next morning, their leftover crumbs attracted small birds. They were the perfect prey for the hawk. On two occasions, Dinets saw it fly away with a sparrow and a dove.
Dinets published his findings in the journal Frontiers in Ethology on May 22, 2025. His study sheds light on the remarkable adaptability of urban wildlife. It also challenges our understanding of animal intelligence.
"Every time I study animals, they prove to be smarter than I expected," Dinets said.
Resources: Smithsonianmag.com, frontiersin.org
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