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A scientist in South peninsula feat about his job collecting accumulation on topical hoarder populations made a stunning discovery: The birds constituted his face, and began to dive-bomb him discover of their nests, like a environs from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds."

"I remember when a hoarder came downbound from a nest tree rebuke at me," think scientist Won Young Lee, a student at Seoul National University, said in a statement. "I was with a second scientist at that time, and I proven to fool the hoarder by giving my container to the another person. But this did not work! When I moved away the shuttle followed me kinda than the fellow individual act my cap."

At the instance of the move Lee was taking inventory of the birds around the Lincoln campus — reckoning the sort of birds and eggs in apiece nest. He had already visited whatever of the nests to install cameras for a removed project, and he noticed that exclusive the birds from nests he had previously visited were aggressive specifically toward him.

Lee and his lab family did a origin think of how the birds were able to discern him. Two newborn students dressed up in the same covering and entered the magpies' territory. One of them climbed the tree patch the another stood on the ground. All of the magpies attacked exclusive the climbers.

It's not every that astonishing that the magpies crapper discern researchers; they are one of the few animals (including humans, another great apes, dolphins, elephants and even bees) that crapper actually discern themselves in the mirror. They are also intimately attendant to ravens, which have been noted to discern and move researchers offensive their nests.

The birds that live on the campus are constantly unclothed to humans, so learning to discern those who threaten their nests could be a natural reaction. Even household pets seem to discern their owners. Because of this, Lee and another researchers requirement to ready their eyes to the skies when performing their surveys.

Co-researcher Piotr Jablonski, also at Seoul National University, said in a statement: "It is amazing that magpies crapper discern one individual manlike discover of twenty cardinal grouping inform in the campus." As a outlander experience in Korea, he confessed that he has had difficulties informing grouping apart, especially during the first year or two.

 "All Asians looked similar to me," he said, "but belike not to the magpies."

The think will be published in a sociable issue of the journal Animal Cognition. Check discover the video beneath to wager whatever hoarder dive-bombing non-researchers!

You crapper study LiveScience body illustrator Jennifer Brittanic on Twitter @microbelover. Follow LiveScience for the stylish in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

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