Air-raiding crows face Tokyo flak
Tokyo's crows have led a charmed life, but the city Government is swooping down as their population and daring soars.
Teams of city workers are combing parks and examining private residences to remove nests and eggs this week as the crows enter their breeding season.
It is estimated that the crow population in the Japanese capital has increased by more than 33 per cent during the past three years.
The crows are becoming more aggressive and targeting office workers enjoying their lunch break in Tokyo parks. It is not uncommon to see crows buzzing groups of people eating their bento - boxed lunch - as in the Hitchcock thriller, The Birds.
Tokyo residents meticulously sort out their rubbish, separating glass, plastic and perishables, and each block of flats has its own miniature rubbish dump. As efficient as this is for garbage collection, it means the city is dotted with thousands of targets for the marauding crows.
Hundreds of attacks are reported each year, with most occurring during the breeding season between April and June.
Some people now use umbrellas when walking though Tokyo's parks to ward off any potential attacks from the sky.
