SINGAPORE, May 30 -- In trees across Singapore, plastic crows are playing dead - and it's all part of a bold new strategy to outsmart some of the smartest birds around.

According to The Straits Times, these lifeless-looking decoys, strung upside down from branches, are part of a National Parks Board (NParks) trial aimed at shooing off house crows, a highly intelligent and invasive species known for their noisy gatherings and the occasional aerial ambush on unsuspecting pedestrians.

"The effigies are placed at roost sites and positioned to resemble dead crows," How Choon Beng, NParks' group director of wildlife management, reportedly said.

"The aim is to create a perception of danger and encourage the roosting crows to disperse to other...