Singapore's National Parks Board hangs fake crows to spook the real ones after dive-bombing attacks

Malay Mail

31-05-2025

SINGAPORE, May 31 — In trees across Singapore, plastic crows are playing dead — and it's all part of a bold new strategy to outsmart some of the smartest birds around.
According to The Straits Times, these lifeless-looking decoys, strung upside down from branches, are part of a National Parks Board (NParks) trial aimed at shooing off house crows, a highly intelligent and invasive species known for their noisy gatherings and the occasional aerial ambush on unsuspecting pedestrians.
'The effigies are placed at roost sites and positioned to resemble dead crows,' How Choon Beng, NParks' group director of wildlife management, reportedly said.
'The aim is to create a perception of danger and encourage the roosting crows to disperse to other locations.'
It might sound like a scene from a Hitchcock film, but it's rooted in science.
Studies from the United States have shown that crows, unnerved by the sight of one of their own hanging lifeless, tend to scatter — sometimes for good.
Back in 2005, researchers from the US Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services tried the same trick in Pennsylvania, where up to 40,000 crows once roosted.
By suspending crow effigies from tree branches, they managed to break up the massive gatherings over two winters. The tactic worked well — at least for a while.
In Singapore, NParks has deployed 15 plastic crows at eight known trouble spots since late 2023.
The effigies typically hang around for about two weeks at a time.
One was spotted in April outside Katong V mall, complete with a sign that reassured passers-by: 'This is a plastic crow. Please do not be alarmed.'
It's a response to growing public frustration.
NParks received nearly 7,000 crow-related complaints annually in 2023 and 2024, with gripes ranging from screeching wake-up calls to full-on bird attacks.
One of the most notorious incidents occurred in Bishan in early 2023, when at least 10 people were harassed by dive-bombing crows in under 20 minutes.
Crow aggression typically spikes during fledgling season between May and June, when adult birds become fiercely protective of their young. It's also when the calls for intervention grow louder.
Effigies are NParks' latest addition to a broader, science-based game plan. Other measures include nest removal, food source management, habitat tweaks, and, in some cases, trapping.