Bird brains - Telegraph Richard Dawkins will be delighted; Network Rail, less so. The country's most evangelical atheist has been complaining about a neighbour in Oxford, who has decorated his trees with spikes and plastic owls in order to deter the pigeons who have been providing his cars with unwanted decoration. Officials at Taunton station had much the same thought - yet after spending £300,000 on spikes, they found the pigeons returning. Some even took to perching on the spikes, as if to taunt the railwaymen. This is an example of adaptation to gladden Mr Dawkins's heart. It is now up to Network Rail to respond, perhaps by procuring the services of Rufus the Wimbledon hawk (although they may be wary of throwing good money after bad). But the question remains - was this natural selection in action? Or did Taunton's spikes need a more intelligent designer?