South Beach's most famous cock to lead King Mango Strut

Yesterday, we informed you that the King Mango Strut- Coconut Grove's irreverent, wacky, and somewhat inexplicable post-Christmas parade -- might be no more after this year. The Man's got them down.

If so, it's going out with a bang -- or more of a peck, really. (What is it about certain animals that makes you want to make really lame puns?) They've just named the Grand Marshal for this year, and it's Mr. Clucky. The impressively crowned, irresistibly friendly male chicken became a South Beach fixture on the bicycle handlebars of owner Mark Buckley, and was then skyrocketed to Palin-esque fame when we put him on our cover last year.

When Buckley found him in the streets, Mr Clucky was a sickly bird with his beak cut off- a common practice at factory farms. Now he lives in a spacious walk-in closet in his owner's apartment, is fed fresh grains and raisins, has a girlfriend- an African hen named Wallflower, which Buckley also found roaming the streets -- and a website and maintains a social life more active than most people.

He even has a movie in the works, titled Mr. Clucky and the Pirates. Buckley's a little cagey about the details on that, except that the rooster will "do a lot of action scenes" and Mr. Clucky's people are "feeling out as script writer right now".

As for the Grand Marshal gig, apparently the bird won a 32-30 vote by the King Mango planning committee. Who'd he beat? An urn, carrying the ashes of one of the parade's late founders.

-- Gus Garcia-Roberts