Robot hawk scares birds from airport

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, April 11 (UPI) -- The Schiphol Airport in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, said it has found a novel solution to its problem of birds on runways -- a robotic hawk.

The flying scarecrow, named the ornithopter, flaps its wings in a mimicry of hawk movement to make birds blocking the airport's runways believe that they are under attack, Radio Netherlands reported Friday.

The robot is the airport's latest method of scaring off pesky birds, following the installation of laser beams, loudspeakers mimicking avian warning cries and the employment of specially trained bird-chasing dogs.