Songbirds join forces to see off predators

Irish songbirds will club together to ward off hawks falcons or cuckoos, enemies much larger than themselves. Terns mob foxes encroaching on their breeding colony, dive-bombing and striking the intruders on the head.

They have even been known to harass polar bears. Confronting such powerful opponents is dangerous but, by enlisting the help of the avian neighbourhood-watch, a bird can deter a predator it could never hope to see off on its own.