LONDON (AP) -- Liverpool's pigeon population has it easy. Feasting on fast food and leaving droppings wherever they please, the fat birds are an embarrassment to a city chosen to be next year's European Capital of Culture.

Fear not. Enter the Robop.

Short for robotic bird of prey, the Robop is the name for a mechanical falcon that squawks and flaps its wings, something the city's council hopes will scare the pesky pigeons away.

"The key is that we move (the Robops) around, so the pigeons don't get used to them," council spokeswoman Sarah Langworthy said. "It keeps (the pigeons) on their toes."

The 10 Robops - only two of which have so far been installed - cost about 2,000 pounds ($4,000) each, and are part of a campaign to expel the pigeons from the city center.

Cleaning teams spend 88 staff hours a day scraping droppings from streets and buildings at a cost of about 160,000 pounds ($320,000) a year, the council said.

The city had weighed several options, including introducing live falcons, but ultimately settled on buying robotic replacements...