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It isn't every day you turn on PBS' "Nature" and see your barber. In my case, it was Thursday.

The program explored human-animal territory wars -- grizzlies, killer bees, plagues of frogs, fire ants, tree snakes. And chickens, which is where Armando Parra came in.

He ran the Conch Town Barber Shop in Old Town for three decades, more or less, and now that it's going condo (don't even ask about real estate here), he's way out at Searstown, at the other end of the island. So instead of walking, I have to fire up the car to see him.

Unless I watch PBS. Mira! There was the wily Armando, in a safari shirt and big catching net, stalking some of Key West's feral roosters that were bothering layabed guests at the Casa Marina Hotel.

Back in 2004, the city hired him as its official chicken catcher, assigned to respond to citizen complaints about bothersome free-ranging birds (not everyone dislikes them, but those who do really do), trap the poultry and ship them to a farm somewhere on the mainland. (There were persistent doubts about the reality of those Elysian coops, but never mind.) Tragically, the task was not without great stresses and disagreements -- and vast challenges, since the chicken census stands somewhere around 2,000, and Armando couldn't make it a full-time job unless the T-shirt sales went really well -- so the position is now vacant.

The other day, while he was buzzing my sides, Armando said he would not accept the job again, even though his true hour may have arrived. The City Commission is anticipating the threat of bird flu with a bold anti-chicken stance.

"Hey, you were here when they were callin' me up nonstop -- all those crazy shock jocks who just wanted to tell dirty chicken jokes on the air. Remember that one who kept trying to get me to say I was chokin' the chicken? Then all the people here who hate chickens yellin' at me when I missed one. And all the bird people sabotaging traps. I ain't doin' that again."

Thus is fame fleeting, though in this case a record of it was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, along with generous contributions from viewers like you.

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AP Photos