Raven Attacks Coffee Delivery Drone, Epic Struggle Ensues


Matthew Hart
Mon, October 4, 2021

Alfred Hitchcock tried to warn us, people. Birds: they are not to be clucked with. Drone pilots are now figuring out this law of the skies firsthand as brawler birds tussle—and often destroy—their hovering crafts. The latest instance of bird-on-drone violence comes out of Australia, where a raven attacked a drone trying to deliver some coffee. And, quite frankly, it’s hard to know who to root for.

PetaPixel picked up on the new aerial battle, which went down in Australia’s capital, Canberra. California-based tech company Wing was using one of its drones in the area to deliver coffee to local man, Ben Rogers. Wing—a subsidiary of Alphabet, which owns Google—has been operating its drones in the area on auto-pilot with the delivery craft out of sight of their operators.

Rogers told The Canberra Times that he’s been using Wing for coffee delivery to his home since the city’s lockdown began. As of yet, Harrison says that the drones have been able to ward off attacks. Although as the video of the raven squabble above shows, the attacks have not been gentle.

A raven attacking a flying drone trying to deliver a box of coffee.

Ben Rogers via ABC News

In Rogers’ video above, which ABC News posted to YouTube, we watch as an Australian raven attacks the Wing drone carrying a delivery container with Rogers’ coffee. The raven swoops in from behind, subsequently attacking the drone’s rear-left side. The drone shrugs off the attack after some wobbling, then proceeds to lower the precious caffeinated cargo. (For clarity, it seems ABC has looped the video twice.)

Although local birds haven’t been able to thwart any deliveries yet, Wing reports it has suspended operations in the area. Which is probably wise as it’s nesting season in the location and nesting birds like this one are vigilant about protecting their offspring. A fact that obviously means we’d like to see birds win out in battle every time. That is unless we really need our coffee. Then it’s a 30-foot-high toss-up in the air.

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