The male painted bunting recently spotted in Prospect Park has set the hearts of ornithologists and amateur birders aflutter.
The bright, rainbow colored bird—which is flashier than its green female counterpart and rarely seen in the northeast—could very well spent spend the winter in Brooklyn, which may help establish this little finch as an avian celebrity on the level of Pale Male, New York’s favorite red-tailed hawk.
The bunting now has a Twitter feed, which Pale Male has too (though his feed hasn’t been updated since 2011). The bunting, which is known for shy behavior in the wild, despite its brilliant feathers, is apparently a bit of an exhibitionist online. “Likes seed, brush, and lady buntings,” its Twitter bio says. The bird—or rather, whoever runs it—has tweeted 137 times since December 4. “All Bird Must Tweet!” it said in its inaugural missive.
In general, the grammar is loopy, and the feed is full of Internet slang terms. The bird contemplates taking up ice skating, probably because it likes to lurk around the LeFrak Center, and comments on the beauty of the park, among other things.
The Brooklyn bunting isn’t the only Twitter account attempting to personify a bird. There is, of course, “a bird,” which features weird observations from what appears to be a cockatiel.
Then there’s simply “Bird,” a chickadee who likes to describe seemingly every action he makes during the day, like cheeping, pooping and sleeping.
Now all we need is an account for the black and white cat, recently captured, who’s had his eye on the bunting for at least the last few days. The cat is now up for adoption at Sean Casey Animal Rescue, according to the Brooklyn Bird Club’s Facebook page. We’re sure his tweets would be particularly sassy.
UPDATE: The person behind the painted bunting account is Mary Brownlee, a video editor living in Brooklyn. “I’m just a dumb comedian who thinks animals on twitter are hilarious!” she told us in a direct message on Twitter.
