In Greek mythology, one of the monsters that Hercules had to fight were the Stymphalian birds, invasive and vicious bronze birds that could kill people by launching bladed feathers and whose droppings were poisonous. These man-eating birds lived around Lake Stymphalia in Arcadia, where they ravaged crops, terrorized locals, and made the area uninhabitable. As his Sixth Labor, Heracles used a rattle given to him by Athena to scare the flock into the air. Once they took flight, he shot many of them down with arrows, driving off or killing enough of the deadly birds to free the region from their attacks.
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