How a hawk learned to use traffic lights to hunt in the city

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https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2025-05-23/how-a-hawk-learned-to-use-traffic-lights-to-hunt-in-the-city.html

How a hawk learned to use traffic lights to hunt in the city

The young raptor uses the signal to know when to hide behind the line of stopped cars and ambush its prey

CONSTANZA CABRERA
MAY 23, 2025 - 14:28 EDT

Cities may seem hostile to wildlife — endless asphalt, constant noise, and pavement instead of trees. But some creatures learn to navigate these environments with the ease of a native city slicker. Such is the case of the Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperi), ruler of the streets for more than 50 years
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It was this chance scene that caught the attention of scientist Vladimir Dinets, a professor at the University of Tennessee. Every morning, while driving his daughter to school through the streets of West Orange, New Jersey, he passed the same intersection. One day, he noticed something unusual: a young hawk seemed to know the rhythm of the traffic lights. Day after day, he watched the bird use a tree as a lookout, motionless and alert for the exact moment when the traffic light turned red and the pedestrian crossing signal beeped. As the line of cars formed, the hawk would fly between them, ambushing its prey on the other side of the street.

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