The Legend of the Qingaio

  

February 9:  

Have you ever heard of the legend of Qingaio bird?  

No?   

Well, let me tell you a little about it.  

This elusive bird lives only deep in the Tian Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan.    It looks very similar to the American roadrunner, except for its brightly colored plumage, excessively large size,  and razor sharp talons.   The legend says that when the Qingaio is captured, the captor will be visited by an invisible llama bearing 12 bags of gold and a set of steak knives as a reward.   

Sounds crazy, no? 

Well, my sister swears she saw one on her walk the other day, perhaps on its legendary round-the-world migratory route from the North side of the Tian Shan mountains to the South side.  

My mom says it was just a roadrunner.   

But then my brother sent us this photograph that he captured while traveling in Europe last year and we knew without a doubt that the legend is true. 

An actual picture of the Qingaio bird

  

Please let me know if you see it, because I could really use some new steak knives! 

********************************

NOTE:   I am merely sharing the story of the Legend of the Qingaio and will not be held responsible for any injuries that may occur while trying to capture this beautiful, but elusive bird.  Additionally, it has been made known to me that the invisible llama has the right to make changes and/or substitutions to the prizes at any time.  Also, this story may or may not have been entirely contrived from the contents of a recent group text message amongst my siblings.