Not every bird gets his day in the sun. Unless you just happen to be Rufus the hawk. The avian star is famous for being a non-lethal deterrent at the Wimbledon Cup every year.
Wayne Davis, his wife Donna and their daughter Imogen, have been Rufus’ trainers ever since he was a bundle of feathers. The important member of the Wimbledon family has been keeping the pesky pigeons at bay using his 40-inch wingspan.He’s also the only attendee who doesn’t have to stand in the queue. Of course, he also has his own Wimbledon security photocard pass with the job title of “Bird Scarer”.
Putting his distinctive yellow-hued beak to good use, Rufus has been scaring away birds for five years, taking over from the previous hawk, Hamish . So what gets his feathers ruffled? Hoodies, apparently. Rufus developed a nervous disposition after he was stolen during the championships in 2012. He went missing for three days but was later returned unharmed.
There are days when he gets peckish when he might just go for the kill. But pigeons usually stay out of the way when he is around. B ased on the fact that pigeons have an innate sense of fight or flight, and they don’t hang around very long to fight when they see his talons.
In his spare time, the adorable fellow hangs around at the Westminster Abbey and scares away pigeons . Humans, go eat crow.
Here’s the birdie in action.