Blackbirds

There is a pissed-off blackbird living next door to me.

She lives in a birch tree, along Broad Street, and in front of the Episcopal Church next door. If you leave my apartment by the side door, walk to the front of the building and down the three concrete steps to the sidewalk that runs parallel to the street, you may see her. Turn left and walk down the sidewalk, toward Warren Street, and you may meet her outside the church. She’ll swoop down and grace the tip of your right ear. She’ll scare the living crap out of you and make you run like hell, so the people in the cars along Broad Street will watch, point, and laugh. If that first attack doesn’t scare you away, she’ll do it again. A couple days later, after you’ve forgotten that there’s a pissed off blackbird living in a tree outside the church, she’ll attack again. You’ll be walking to get a cup of coffee before work and she’ll attack. You’ll see her sitting atop a scrub when you turn back after running across the street. She’ll look all smug and content and you’ll think you see her smile.

She’s clearly pissed off and I don’t know why. Do blackbird get PMS?