The Birds

Most of you who know me well are aware of my intense fear and dislike of birds. My fear of birds, also called ornithophobia, has existed since the age of 2 when I was viciously attacked by peacocks at the zoo. Ever since then, (according to my mom) I would point at birds and say, 'Bad birdie!'. Well, I don't say that now...but I do go out of my way to avoid walking by birds...I duck when their flight path is remotely near my head...I have even been known to shriek when I have an encounter with a bird that is too close for comfort.
Anyway, soon after moving to Philadelphia four years ago, the pigeon became my most hated bird. Unfortunately, they are abundant in New York as well. They are dirty, make terrible noises, and are unpredictable when walking by them. I'm somewhat used to the crazy stares I get while avoiding pigeons, but today when walking down the street, a pigeon nearly flew straight into me and after I recovered from wildly ducking my head, I looked up to see a woman walking towards me and chuckling...I guess some things will never change.
Along the subject of birds, I saw The March of the Penguins tonight. It was a cute movie and the penguins were so adorable. But it was so sad whenever they were killed by the cold or by predators. Afterwards, I was thinking about how I liked penguins and it struck me that this is the first type of bird that I have ever liked. They lack most of the characteristics that I hate about birds: 1) they don't fly, 2) they don't have unpredictable movements where they could fly into your face, 3) I don't feel threatened by them.
So in summary: I hate all birds except penguins.