Living

By Paula Froelich

Screaming, pooping and aggressive peacocks who have terrorized the ritzy Miami enclave of Coconut Grove will finally be removed.

The colorful birds have been a staple of the area for almost two decades, but after years of regenerating, their population has run amok and the issues have become pronounced, "bringing with them large pyramids of slimy poop, aggressive males (particularly during mating season) and birds that swoop down, unprovoked, with their talons outstretched," according to Route Fifty.

Also irksome are the shrieks they make during mating season.

"If you’ve never heard their call — it almost sounds like someone is being murdered," Tom Falco, editor of the Coconut Grove Grapevine blog, told Route Fifty. "Last week I was driving on a quiet tree-lined side street and one called out, almost like a scream, and it took me by such surprise, I almost ran off the road."

And then there’s the property damage.

"Because of the proliferation, because they’re so aggressive during mating season and because there are so many males, they see their reflection in cars and they scratch," Commissioner Ken Russell said during an October meeting, according to Route Fifty, adding "one peacock pecked and scratched the entire surface of a city employee’s Toyota Prius."

In response, the city of Miami has now promised to start trapping and relocating the peacocks, amending the city’s charter to "allow for the relocation of peafowl … in a manner that does not physically injure or harm the peafowl."