Real-life Angry Birds?

A daring flock of crows creates a "danger zone" in the parking lot of a Washington police department, where the birds routinely dive-bomb officers

Crows nesting near a Washington state police station parking lot have been ganging up on officers, dive-bombing them, and splattering their cars with droppings.
(Image credit: CC BY: Thomas Quine)

The video: The Everett, Wash., Police Department parking lot has come under attack from a flock of courageous crows. Like a scene pulled from the video game Angry Birds, the crows "dive-bomb" officers as they walk from their cruisers into the precinct building. (Watch a news report below.) "They're like velociraptors," says one lieutenant, as quoted by the Associated Press. Retaliation from the officers has only resulted in a torrent of droppings from above. Worse, the birds are conspiring: Three birds have been seen working as a team, with two causing a distraction while the other strikes. Despite the nuisance, a city spokesman says the police and city workers will "wait out the aggression," so as to not provoke the crows any further. In the meantime, employees should "use umbrellas to defend themselves if need be."

The reaction: It's "a scene that's equal parts Hitchcock and Assault on Precinct 13," says Cyriaque Lamar at io9. And if the aggression continues, says Keegan Hamilton at Seattle Weekly, it's only a matter of time until a "fed-up cop" cracks and begins shooting the birds. "The triumphant officer would, of course, quote the raven and say of the bird battle, 'Nevermore.'" Check out the raptor-like crows for yourself:

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