Wimbledon's birdnapped Rufus gives new meaning to Hawkeye

Rufus the Hawk has reigned over Wimbledon for all four-plus years of his life. "It's almost his playground," says his flame-haired keeper in this video:

That's why it was startling that Rufus was stolen from the All England Club's grounds between the evening of June 28 and the following morning. Strangely, he was since recovered at the Wimbledon Common. Rufus and his Harrier hawk brethren aren't naturally predators as pigeons go, but instead he's trained to circle and scare away those pesky birds for the duration of the Championships so that they don't hamper the players' concentration.

The winged sentinel is quite the workaholic over the Wimbledon fortnight, coming in at 5:30 a.m. and leaving after 9 p.m. daily. Rufus is on Twitter, of course, if you'd like to stalk the hawk. He also sometimes patrols the building and grounds at Westminster Abbey. Rufus likes to pal about with fellow celebrities, having been spotted recently with Brad Gilbert, Tim Henman, and the UK's latest great hope, Andy Murray.

Maybe the hawk will be brought in to call lines in the women's final featuring Serena Williams versus Agnieszka Radwanska. With the way Serena is serving—including a Wimbledon ladies' record 24 aces in her semifinal victory over Victoria Azarenka—line judges' eyes will likely tire of tracking her missiles.

—Jonathan Scott (Talk to me on Twitter @jonscott9.)