'The Bird' causes traffic buildup in Southwest Houston

HOUSTON – At the corner of Beechnut Street and La Roche Lane in Southwest Houston, there's an exotic bird that has been stalling traffic.

“The bird chases everything back and forth every day,” said Patrick Purnell of southwest Houston.

The bird makes visits to the local stores.

“People like to stare at him,” said Jessica Solano, who works at Western Union. “He's like our store pet. He's here every day.”

The finely feathered fowl even has a rock star name - think The Who or The Beatles - with a reputation to match.

“We just call it 'The Bird,'” Solano said.

“The Bird takes care of itself,” Purnell said.

When The Bird struts out into traffic, he causes a commotion. Cars come to a screeching halt.

“Everybody is scared,” said Mary Pinto, who sees The Bird often. “They try not to hit it.”

WATCH: 'The Bird' in middle of Houston road

It was Pinto who brought the story to our attention by posting a video on our Facebook page of The Bird racing out into the street.

“And The Bird comes out and goes all around under the cars that are coming in and going,” Pinto said.

In the video, a car turning onto Beechnut is forced to stop at the intersection. The Bird starts pacing up and down the side and pecks at the wheels. A truck traveling along Beechnut stops too, as The Bird runs under the carriage, then pops back out.

One driver tries to ease forward, but The Bird chases the car wheels and does not back down.

“I'm afraid the cars are going to hit, like T-bone, the cars coming out and we're also afraid we are going to kill The Bird,” Pinto said.

People said they made calls to pick up The Bird.

“We tried to call the pest control,” Solano said.

Pinto said she called 311, then animal control and Texas Wildlife.

But both Solano and Pinto said no one called them back.

No one knows where The Bird came from.

“It's a mystery bird,” Purnell said.

And, if they had to guess, people say The Bird looks like a helmeted guineafowl.

What we do know is that The Bird has dodged danger once again and has lived to strut another day.