In the second such incident within the last week, a giant crane fell onto an apartment building in New York City, causing extensive damage, and leaving Mayor Michael Bloomberg with an enormous bill.
The bird, according to onlookers, just fell out of the sky, and landed atop the Rikers Complex, where it caused much laughter. No-one was hurt, but the crane had to be eaten after its wings were pulled off by excited inmates.
Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds of the order Gruiformes, that look like herons, but are not. They fly with their necks outstretched, not pulled back, and have elaborate and noisy courting displays. Many fly to New York for the winter, as the nightlife is excellent.
It's thought that the crane, posthumously named Dinner by its finders, may have become tired and disoriented, and attempted to land on the roof of Block A, where many notorious criminals are housed. Once it had landed, the stricken bird was no match for the hardy lags who were hungry, and all that was left when guards reached the roof, was its enormous bill.
Mayor Bloomberg, speaking to a news conference, told reporters:
"Two in a week! Hopefully this will be the end of this kind of wordplay!"
