A feral rooster surveys his domain in Puerto Rico
When I was a kid our neighbors had chickens to include a rooster, and my grandmother from New York loved to hear him every morning, as it reminded her of being,"in the country".
Nana's pastoral idyll not withstanding, chickens and roosters in Puerto Rico are not restricted to bucolic farms and shady suburban streets. Here they are everywhere; from the high-rises of Hato Rey and Santurce to the narrow streets of Old San Juan.
Even in the tony Condado and the lush Ocean Park, it is not unusual to see a brood grubbing their way along the streets and at the base of trees, nor to hear a rooster proudly proclaim his territory.
Now we all know that roosters crow at the first sign of light; heralds of the approaching dawn! But this is less an action stemming from a canny understanding of astronomy than it is to an overwhelming paranoia against change of any type that the rooster perceives as a threat to his domain and/or hens. Other perceived threats include car lights, car horns, children laughing, dogs barking, hawks flying, a garden hose. You name it and a rooster will be threatened by it.
Here at Casa Clara Vista, it generally sets off a chain-reaction (or is caused by one). Some likely scenarios: Rooster sees car headlight - rooster crows - dogs bark - rooster crows - dogs bark - headlight clears the ridge - everyone goes back to sleep. Scenario two: Dog sees car headlight - dog barks - rooster crows - dogs bark - rooster crows - dogs bark - headlight clears the ridge - everyone goes back to sleep.
At the Amapola Street Apartments and the Skyline View Condo its about the same. So if you are planning to visit Puerto Rico, plan on hearing roosters day and night. And try to take it all in stride. With literally tens-of-thousands of them, it is better to be like my Nana and embrace their quirky demeanor than to have your trip ruined by bucolic noise magically transferred to an urban environment.
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