As political birds of prey circled prime ministers, a fake hawk was deployed to repel a notorious parliament of magpies that terrorise lunchtime in Canberra.

Officials confirm the method was used to try to wrest back control of Parliament House's courtyards from the birds, which are infamous for swooping staff.

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Parliament's building services branch assistant secretary Fiona Knight says the magpies have been a serious problem.

"We have had a number of attacks on people here by magpies here while people have been eating their lunches," Ms Knight told a Senate estimates hearing on Monday.

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She said the fake hawk had been used in a number of areas around the building as one of a range of measures, which also included bird sounds.

Labor senator Kimberley Kitching asked whether there needed to be more than one hawk to deter the magpies.

"There's a conspiracy theory about the magpies being incredibly aggressive just at Parliament House - more aggressive than anywhere else in Australia," Senator Kitching said.

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Senate President Scott Ryan had a creative solution to patrol the staff-accessible cafe.

"I proposed a parliamentary cat but it didn't take off, prowling the Aussies courtyard," Senator Ryan said.

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Committee chairman James Paterson also had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek as he proposed a more ruthless fix.

"If all else fails, I'm sure the parliamentary friends of shooting would be happy to assist," Senator Paterson said.