A study released Thursday reveals that hawks in a New Jersey town have figured out how to use nearby traffic lights to enhance their hunting strategies.
This research published in Frontier of Law highlights how certain bird species adapt surprisingly well to urban environments.
According to the author, these behaviors demonstrate remarkable intelligence, particularly in a challenging cityscape.
Earlier studies have shown behaviors like crows exploiting cars to access food, whether by waiting for fresh roadkill or by choosing insects stuck on vehicle grills.
The findings also parallel incidents in a Houston suburb where a red-shouldered hawk was seen dive-bombing residents, allegedly to protect its young.
However, this current study focuses more intricately on the Cooper’s hawk. As outlined by Vladimir Dinets from the University of Tennessee, these hawks adapted to specific intersections in West Orange, New Jersey, where pedestrian crossings often caused cars to back up, creating ideal hunting conditions.
At one such intersection, traffic slowed due to a red light, allowing the hawk to target birds congregating nearby.
Dinets observed that while stuck in traffic, a juvenile Cooper’s hawk swooped down from a tree, using the temporary congestion to launch an attack on a bird near a house.
This particular house attracted various birds, as the family often dined outdoors, leaving behind crumbs that drew in sparrows and pigeons.
Interestingly, Dinets noted how the hawk timed its strike. It only attacked when traffic was halted long enough to obscure itself in a small tree, a situation that arose after someone pressed the pedestrian crossing button.
Once the crossing signal activated, the hawk would perch nearby, patiently waiting for the traffic to stack up before making its move. This adaptability suggests that, despite being new in town, the hawk quickly learned how to exploit traffic patterns for its benefit.
However, urban environments are ever-changing, and so are reliable hunting spots. As families move, the source of available food can dry up, leaving Dinets observing, “I haven’t spotted Cooper’s hawks in this area since.”
Despite this, he notes that these hawks represent a select group of raptors—similar to peregrine falcons that thrive among tall buildings and red-tailed hawks that hunt in urban parks.
“My observations indicate that Cooper’s hawks are surviving and adapting successfully, largely because of their cleverness,” he concludes.
