The Off-Beat News feature of Netscape Central offers this todbit from jolly England, where the unusual is to be expected:

Sunday, Feb. 4, 2001

Lovelorn Peacocks Terrorize British Villagers

LONDON (Reuters) - Flocks of feral peacocks are terrorizing villages across Britain in a desperate but futile search for mates, the Sunday Times reported.

The lovelorn peacocks have descended on rural communities, chasing children and destroying vegetable patches in a vain search for peahens to mate with, the paper said.

"Because the hens nest on the ground, they are being eaten by foxes, which means there are not enough to go around," peacock breeder Quinton Spratt told the paper.

Peacocks are not known for their monogamous habits. Each male bird requires at least five hens to mate with.

The birds are believed to be fugitives from stately homes where they have become popular attractions because of their colorful plumage and fan-shaped tails.

Well, challengers, rev up your dithyrambs and let's hear about the woes of these under-priveleged males with less than five mates each! Make the Goddess proud!!!