Jay Honeck writes:
I have heard that birds, when confronted with airplanes, will
invariable *dive* to avoid us. Is this one of those "old pilot's
tales", or is it true?

I don't know if it is always true -- but at KPAO (my home airport) you
do final for Runway 31 over the town dump and then over a duck pond.
Loads of birds. Every time I have come anywhere near the birds they
have dived. (If I see them early enough I go around before getting
close.) It is quite possible that this is natural selection at work
-- any birds in this area which do _not_ dive don't last very long...

Chris