The bird that doesn’t eat corn

We’re walking at the quay and a single bird is hopping around, a Chinese starling. Eva, gnawing on a corn cob, throws a kernel, but the bird doesn’t bite. An old man behind us says: “She won’t eat that.”

We’re all like “Ah, how do you know?”, and the man replies “She’s my pet, I raised her. She’s about to jump on your head.” Still in disbelief, Eva leans closer to the bird and yep, the bird flies on her head.

The man walks on and yells “nunu” (Shanghainese for a little girl) and the bird flies after him, us still dumbfounded.

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