The Bird With the Lizard Tail
by Kitty Felde
In State of the Union, 10-year-old detective Fina Mendoza is on the hunt for a Chickcharney, which her friend Monica describes as a bird from the island of Andros in the Bahamas that has a "round face, a sharp beak, long legs, and a skinny, curly tail." The tail of a lizard.
Fact or fiction?
(Chickcharney (artwork by Imelda Hinojosa)There are lots of stories about Chickcharneys. According to a Caribbean blog, they can be bribed into granting good luck.
But apparently Chickcharneys don't have a very good sense of humor. If mistreated or joked about, you'll be cursed with bad luck. How bad? Your head can spin around to face your back. Ouch.
Chickcharney has its own page on a fandom wiki which says the bird has "keen sight in the dark."
Time Magazine called them "first cousin to a leprechaun." Reportedly, locals would ward off unfortunate encounters with the bird by pressing their thumb and little finger into their palm and wave the other three fingers. Supposedly, the three-toed bird would mistake you for a relative and leave you alone.
(photo of Neville Chamberlain courtesy of the National Gallery)Long before he tried to appease the Nazi's, a young Neville Chamberlain had a run in with Chickcharney. He was managing his father's sisal plantation on Andros nd wanted to cut down a tree in order to build a railroad across the land. Locals warned him that he was inviting Chickcharney trouble, since they lived in tall pine trees. Chamberlain ignored the advice and hired a crew from another island who cut down the tree. The farm failed. Locals blamed Chickcharney.
The truth?
(photo courtesy of Los Angeles Audubon)There is an extinct owl in the Bahamas called Tyto pollens. It died out during the last Ice Age. There are only bits of a few birds to testify to its existence. Scientists imagine that Tyto pollens looked a bit like a barn owl. And owls look a bit like...Chickcharney.
Listen to the fiction inspired by the facts:
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