"Perfect metaphor for the times" alert:
One of only a handful of a type of small bird from Asia to have been spotted in the U.K. in the past two centuries was thrilling twitchers off the northwest coast of Scotland earlier this week.
Then, tragedy struck. It flew into the blade of a wind turbine and was killed.
Needless to say, watching the little white-throated needletail fall to its death dismayed those who went to the Outer Hebrides to see it.
Dozens of twitchers ("British slang for a person who will travel long distances to spot as many hard-to-find birds as possible") had rushed to the area Wednesday after hearing from Rare Bird Alert U.K. and other spotters thatthe needletail was there.
"It was really beautiful when it was flying around, graceful and with such speed," John Marchant of the British Trust for Ornithology tells The Scottish Sun. "To suddenly see it fly into a turbine and fall out the sky was terrible."
There I go again, cackling over the death of one of God's creatures just to score a political point. What can I say? I'm a vile conservative thug, so I can't help myself.