Robot falcon keeps innocent buildings safe from dung

Okay, so she might've committed the heinous crime of mistaking the city of Liverpool for a town, but I'll let Gear Live's Sheila Franklin off since she's writing about a place a mere gnats parp from where I was born.  The city has been named European Capital of Culture 2008, and is busy going through a riot of upgrading, remodelling and general fettling; one thing that obviously has no place there is the dung of the common pigeon.  And yet generous Liverpudlians are tempting down and fattening up the winged-rats with leftover food, leaving just one option – that's right, a robot peregrine falcon.

No, seriously, a robot peregrine falcon.  Called "robops", for some unknown and frankly unimportant reason, ten of the feathered facsimiles will be stationed across the rooftops of Liverpool to generally discourage birds lower down the food-chain from coming near.  Each can move its head and flap its wings, even squawk, although it's unlikely that they could swoop down and steal your children.  Sadly.

It might sound stupid, but apparently the council is currently spending £160,000 ($320k) a year cleaning up bird-muck from buildings and pavements.

BBC [via Gear Live]