Rufus the Hawk is a

Harris's Hawk The Harris's hawk (''Parabuteo unicinctus''), formerly known as the bay-winged hawk, dusky hawk, and sometimes a wolf hawk, and known in Latin America as peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south ...

used by the

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam ...

to keep

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

s away from their venue. Described as an "important member of the Wimbledon family", Rufus has been scaring away the birds for fifteen years, taking over from the previous hawk, Hamish. The All England Club employ Rufus to patrol their 42-acre grounds throughout the year, with daily visits during the two weeks of

The Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is play ...

and the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

. Pigeons are particularly attracted to the roof of the centre court. He has also been employed to scare pigeons away from

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

, various hospitals, airfields, and landfill sites. On 28 June 2012 Rufus was stolen from the back of his owner's car while it was parked on a private drive. 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". He was found three days later on

Wimbledon Common Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 46 ...

and handed into the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

. The bird was healthy with the only injury being a slightly sore leg. Rufus usually wears a radio transmitter by which he could have been tracked, but it is removed from him at night. In June 2013 it was reported that Rufus was scared by people in hoods and that he had been chased off by

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

s. Rufus has also been featured by Stella Artois in their advertising series 'Here's To Perfection'. Rufus has accounts on Twitter and Facebook and his own Wimbledon security photocard pass with the job title of "Bird Scarer".

References

{{All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Individual birds of prey Wimbledon Championships Working birds Tennis culture Individual animals in England Animal theft

See also

References