Singapore bans messy birds

SINGAPORE, 13 October 2011 – Businesses along Singapore’s famous Orchard Road shopping street plan to deploy trained hawks to scare off thousands of birds whose droppings rain down on pedestrians’ heads, a report said Wednesday.

The Straits Times said retailers were in talks with Jurong Bird Park, whose attractions include trained birds of prey, to try a natural solution after artificial methods such as high-pitched recordings failed to drive the birds away.

Wildlife groups estimate that around 2,000 to 5,000 starlings and mynahs roost along Orchard Road in the evening, releasing droppings on pavements and parked cars and creating a din that even overpowers traffic noise. Read more