Birds never cease to amaze us with their remarkable abilities. For instance, crows are known to utilize tools and even hold grudges against specific individuals. Magpies have demonstrated the ability to recognize themselves in mirrors. Now, research has shown that hawks are using traffic signals to hunt down their prey, as reported in a study published in the journal Frontiers in Ethology.

This remarkable discovery began with Vladimir Dinets, a zoologist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the study’s author, who observed an intriguing phenomenon near his home in West Orange, New Jersey. As a zoologist, Dinets has long been fascinated by how animals interact with urban environments, particularly their relationship with cars. Previous studies have shown that ravens patrol highways in search of roadkill, while songbirds use cars to hide from predators.

Dinets was keenly observing these interactions when a young Cooper’s hawk migrated into his neighborhood and started exhibiting a remarkable behavior.

The intersection where Dinets observed the hawk was not particularly busy, even during rush hour, as he noted in a guest editorial for Frontiers in Ethology. However, when a pedestrian crossed the street, cars would line up all the way to a small, bushy tree down the block, and the pedestrian “walk” signal would produce a distinct sound indicating it was time to walk.

One morning, Dinets observed the hawk emerge from the tree, fly low over the line of cars, cross the street between the cars, and then dive down to retrieve something near one of the houses.

This sequence of events repeated itself multiple times.

It turned out that the family living in the house near the bushy tree enjoyed having dinner in their front yard, attracting birds like sparrows and doves that would gather to eat the leftover crumbs.

The hawk would take advantage of this situation, swooping down into the yard to catch the unsuspecting sparrows and doves. However, the hawk only did this when cars were lined up along the block all the way to the tree.

Dinets eventually realized that the line of cars provided cover for the hawk, and that the hawk had learned to associate the sound of the pedestrian “walk” signal with the impending lineup of cars. As soon as a pedestrian pressed the button, the hawk would fly to the small, bushy tree and wait for the cars to pile up before using them as cover to sneak up on its prey.

According to Dinets, the hawk had developed an understanding of the connection between the sound of the pedestrian signal and the eventual queue of cars.

“The hawk apparently grasped the relationship between the sound and the subsequent car queue length,” Dinets explained. The hawk also seemingly had a good mental map of the neighborhood.

The hawk, or what Dinets believed to be the same hawk, returned the following year and employed the same strategy to hunt. However, the family eventually moved away, and the signal stopped functioning, so Dinets has not observed any hawks using this clever tactic near his home since.

Urban life can be challenging for birds, as they must avoid windows, navigate through cars, and cope with noise. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates one way in which they have adapted to city living.

“My observations suggest that Cooper’s hawks are able to survive and thrive in urban environments, at least in part, due to their intelligence,” Dinets wrote.