Fake snakes scare birds
NZPA Washington President Reagan walked within hissing distance of a giant snake perched high in a White House magnolia, but the viper did not notice the President or his entourage. It was among several fake snakes the National Park Service has propped in
trees in the White House grounds as part of its nonviolent war against starlings. The giant white-bellied vipers with triangular heads are 2m to 3m long and poised in semi-coiled positions along tree limbs about 10m above the ground. The Park Service, which maintains the meticulously
kept lawns and gardens around the executive mansion, has battled the starlings for years. It has tried wiring loudspeakers in the trees to caw like crows or emit piercing siren screams, and it has propped artificial owls in the trees, but some of the flying pests never seem to get the message.
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Press, 6 March 1984, Page 13
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145Fake snakes scare birds Press, 6 March 1984, Page 13
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