Rufus the Hawk

Rufus the Hawk
Rufus at the 2012 Summer Olympics
SpeciesHarris's Hawk
SexMale
OccupationBird Scarer
Known forScaring birds away from the Wimbledon Championships

Rufus the Hawk is a Harris's Hawk used by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to keep pigeons away from their venue. Described as an "important member of the Wimbledon family",[1] Rufus has been scaring away the birds for fifteen years,[2] taking over from the previous hawk, Hamish.[3]

The All England Club employ Rufus to patrol their 42-acre grounds throughout the year, with daily visits during the two weeks of Wimbledon Championships and the 2012 Summer Olympics.[3][4] Pigeons are particularly attracted to the roof of the centre court.[3] He has also been employed to scare pigeons away from Westminster Abbey, various hospitals, airfields, and landfill sites.[3][4]

On 28 June 2012, Rufus was stolen from the back of his owner's car while it was parked on a private drive.[1][5] The theft caused a "global outcry" with significant coverage in the media leading to Rufus being named "the world's most notable bird" and "one of Britain's best-known birds".[4][6] He was found three days later on Wimbledon Common and handed into the RSPCA. The bird was healthy with the only injury being a slightly sore leg.[1][5] Rufus usually wears a radio transmitter by which he could have been tracked, but it is removed from him at night.[4] In June 2013, it was reported that Rufus was scared by people in hoods and that he had been chased off by crows.[5]

Rufus has accounts on Twitter and Facebook and his own Wimbledon security photocard pass with the job title of "Bird Scarer".[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference W 28-06-13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC 03-07-13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference BT 25-06-13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Telegraph 02-07-12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Metro 26-06-13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reuters 24-06-13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).