Vanishing peacocks

Dozens of peacocks and peahens known for wandering the grounds of a historic Art Deco hotel in the Sacramento Delta are missing, and the hotel staff said they believe the birds were stolen.

- RONALD CONSTANTINO

After a customer at the Ryde Hotel mentioned seeing two men grabbing one of the birds and putting it inside a cage on the bed of a pickup truck, the staff did a count and realized only four of their exotic birds remained. David Nielsen, the hotel's general manager, said.

“We're not sure why anyone would do anything like this, but the staff is absolutely heartbroken,” Nielsen said.