The Rare Nun Bird
A dear Passionist friend of ours recently made his 8-day retreat here. We gathered for a monastic visit in the parlor the last evening of his stay. He regaled us with a new bird species that he discovered while here! Grazie Padre Giuseppe! (Beware: Some of the humor contains "inside jokes" but we thought you would enjoy it "nun-the-less"!)
THE NW KENTUCKY NUN BIRD
Avis monacha kentuckiensis
Uncommon and local. A rare bird indeed. Ranging in height from 5’3” to almost 6’. Typically all black with a white nape. The taller subspecies like the Maria Cecilia and the Ioannes Maria are more commonly known as ‘big bird.’ The Nun Birds tend to flock around a dominant female.
Breeding habits are undocumented, they just hatch and appear on the internet.
The juveniles are distinguished by a white crest extending to the scapular which molts over a period of 3 years or more. Creatures of habit, the juveniles may be seen on warm days between 2 and 3 p.m.; solitary, occasionally running or in small gaggles happily chirping away or pecking at weeds under statues.
Omnivorous, foraging habits are adaptable to the seasons although mature specimens have shown a penchant for pullum frixum (fried chicken) when available.
Voice: generally silent. Harsh call notes and hissing when feeling threatened by intruders. Otherwise, long soft high notes sounding like Domini, Domini until evening. No later than 9 p.m. a low croaking sounding like Good night Father!