> I see bees in flight change course to chase 
> off dark colored birds flying through the apiary.  
> I have never seen a bee succeed at physically 
> engaging the bird, but there is no doubt that 
> they will pursue them.

My dubious view of the Tokyo project was based 
upon the relative airspeeds of birds versus bees. 

But bees fly at about 8 to 10 MPH, and birds
have much faster airspeeds, on the order of
15 to 20 MPH minimum.  So how are the bees 
going to pursue any bird?

Further, several types of birds are known to
swoop across hive entrances, snapping
up bees with each pass.  Clearly, bees can't
change course fast enough to avoid being 
eaten by a bird, so how would they be able
to change course quickly enough to "attack"
or otherwise drive off a bird?

Could the bees be attempting evasive maneuvers 
to avoid the birds?  Can you identify the type 
of birds?

Note that even Monty Python would view the
Tokyo project as dubious, in that they made
clear to everyone in "Monty Python And The 
Holy Grail" that the air-speed velocity of 
an unladen swallow is roughly 11 meters per 
second (or 24 mph).

And that's an unladen EUROPEAN swallow, of
course.

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