It’s not quite as gory as Hitchcock’s 1963-film horror The Birds, but up to 20 people working or studying at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) have reported being attacked by a lone crow in recent days.

Two of the aerial attack victims required medical treatment from CIT’s on-campus medical centre, where nursing staff administered tetanus jabs and prescribed antibiotics.

A spokesperson for CIT confirmed last night college authorities have requested the assistance of the Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in a bid to deal with the menace.

Experts are due to visit the campus today to assess the situation and advise CIT’s health and safety team.

Details of the bizarre attacks emerged yesterday when one staff member began discussing his brush with the campus crow near a car park to the rear of CIT’s main entrance.

It is understood the man was clawed about the head and suffered several scratch wounds. He was one of the two people to require medical attention.

His report triggered a cascade of reports from other staff members about similar crow attacks in and around the same area.

The spokesperson for CIT said college authorities have been made aware of at least 15 similar crow attacks, all in the same area of campus.

Various theories have been put forward to explain the sudden spate of attacks.

It has been suggested that a chick may have fallen from the nest and the crow is simply defending its offspring.

Live nesting sites are protected and cannot be disturbed. The spokesperson said while the vast majority of students have left campus for the summer, the best advice in the meantime for those left working on or visiting the campus is to avoid walking in the area until the chicks fledge.