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How a hawk learned to use traffic lights to hunt

4 June 2025 · 32 views · 0 likes · 0 reposts · 108 blog views

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🚦 When hawks use traffic lights and dogs wait for green.

I just read that hawks uses traffic signals to time its attacks. A professor at the University of Tennessee, observed a young Cooper’s hawk in the city that had learned to recognize the sound signal at a pedestrian crossing. That sound, which indicated a longer red light, meant more cars would line up at the intersection, creating perfect cover for the hawk to sneak up on its prey.

The hawk understood the pattern. It flew into a dense tree when it heard the signal, waited for the cars to line up (camouflage on demand), then glided low across the sidewalk, zipped between the vehicles, and dove straight into a flock of birds.

The article reminded me of those viral clips of stray dogs in big cities who wait at crosswalks and use the green light to cross the street safely.

The hawk had just arrived in the city for winter. It figured this whole strategy out in a matter of weeks - just instinct, observation, and some serious cognitive firepower.

How a hawk learned to use traffic lights to hunt

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