Expert Marko Mägi said the bird, a hooded crow, frequents the area around the Anne kanal, an artificial lake east of the city center.

The crow (see gallery) may associate a person's face or clothing with a past bad experience and react aggressively, he added.

This is not a unique case, Mägi noted, and the same exact bird has exhibited anti-social behaviors in previous years during spring and summer.

Speaking to "Ringvaade," Mägi said: "There's one bird by the Anne kanal who is, to put it politely, a little touched in the head. In spring, many birds get aggressive, not just crows. This is because hormones start raging as the breeding season approaches, and testosterone surges in male birds, making them more aggressive."

Some local residents told "Aktuaalne kaamera" they had encountered the angry bird.

One, Maie, said: "I have seen it several times. A woman was walking here and then the crow flew at her quite forcefully, and hurt her, and then she just ran away. Then I got attacked last year too."

Another, Tatjana, said: "This year I have encountered the crow twice. At least it didn't hit my head, but a few years ago it always sat there in the tree and kept jumping on my head. Now when I walk past, I'm always looking around. I take a stick with me and wave it around because I get scared when it caws loudly."

However, Mägi said, crows are generally not dangerous, and pecking with their bill is rare. "It's risky for the bird, so only a few do it. This usually happens around midsummer in June when chicks are leaving the nest. Then, many crows become aggressive to protect their young."

Crows are intelligent birds with the ability to remember human faces and clothing. If they had a previous "issue" with a person, they may harass people resembling that person.

Resentment may also arise towards people who fed the bird in winter, then stop doing so when spring arrives, Mägi added, though found unlikely another theory that crows and other birds can become aggressive after ingesting alcoholic drinks from discarded bottles and cans.

Mägi recommends wearing a hat, especially a pom-pom variety, to avoid scratches, or simply avoid the area.

"Crows grab onto the pom-pom on the hat and that way you protect your head," he said, noting that seagulls, also noted for aggression, can do the same thing.

The hooded crow (Corvus cornix), protected in the U.K., where it is found only in Scotland, is common in Estonia and can be seen in urban areas like Tartu.

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