Haden Hill House Museum's stuffed birds to stop pigeons
A fish eagle and peregrine falcon have been put "on guard" at a Black Country museum to keep pooping pigeons at bay.
The duo, stuffed in Victorian times, have been drafted in at Haden Hill House Museum in Rowley Regis.
They have been placed by first-floor windows to scare pigeons away and stop them splattering pathways.
A staff member suggested the idea after seeing plastic owls stuck on the outside of buildings to discourage pigeons from landing.
Frank Caldwell, museums service manager, said: "We've got some wonderful Victorian taxidermic specimens which we have pressed into service.
"To date we've recruited a white-tailed fish eagle and a peregrine falcon which eagle-eyed visitors may be able to spot looking out from first-floor windows.
"It's very much a "try it and see" at this stage but if it works we might experiment with other birds at our other sites."