While the project might sound a little bit gruesome, the research helped gather data to support the hypothesis that wingflapping is often used to deter rivals.
Scientists at North Carolina's Duke University worked with a taxidermist to create a wing-flapping "Robosparrow" using picaxe chips, tiny linear motors... and a dead sparrow.
The experiment, carried out over a period of two months, confirmed to the researchers that wing-flapping is a sign of male aggression, said Dr Rindy Anderson who led the study.