First it was a cobra. Now, a peacock. What’s next, a rhino?
Tuesday afternoon a 2-year-old peacock from the Central Park Zoo got loose and took an aerial tour of the big apple.
The bird was spotted near the E. 180th St. subway station, on a window ledge at 838 Fifth Avenue and on 64th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Early Wednesday morning the bird flew back into the zoo on its own.
News about the fowl spread over the net like wildfire, spawning three satirical Twitter accounts in no time: @centralpeacock (1,941 followers), @birdonthetown (836 followers) and @5thAvePeacock, which has since been deactivated.
In just a few hours Tuesday, the three accounts tweeted more than 250 times combined–most of which have been in response to Twitter mentions. @centralpeacock, in particular, considers itself to be the top bird account in town.
“Hey @Twitter, how do I report this fake account: @BirdOnTheTown?” tweeted @centralpeacock. “@BirdOnTheTown is either a fake or one of my cagemates escaped too. I’m betting fake, the only thing birds do “on the town” is crap.”
On the other hand, @birdonthetown was more concerned with food and traffic.
“Just finished dinner at a Chinese restaurant and I’m relieved to find out that the #peacock fantasy is actually chicken!” tweeted @birdonthetown. “Shall I take the M86 crosstown bus or fly? It’s hard to know what to do during rush hour.”