For the past two weeks, passersby near 44 Bow St. may have noticed a large, copper bird sporting pince-nez spectacles on its beak nesting atop the Lampoon castle.

Harvard bird watching has been spotty since October of 1996 when unknown pranksters stole the Ibis from the roof of the Lampoon, a semi-secret Sorrento Square social organization that used to occasionally publish a so-called humor magazine.

The Ibis, the embodiment of Poonster pride, plays a crucial role in the ongoing Crimson-Lampoon rivalry, which began with a parody of The Crimson in 1901.

Lampoon President Matthew C. Warburton '00 maintained that the bird overlooking the castle is the one that disappeared over three years ago.

"The police told us not to give any comment about the recovery as the investigation is still ongoing," Warburton said.

Although Lampoon Trustee Thomas W. Beale '71initially stuck to this story, he admitted that graduates felt they were never going to recover the Ibis.

The Lampoon suspected The Crimson at first, but more time has passed than ever before in the rivalry without a hint from The Crimson.

"We think it was really stolen. The Crimson would take an obnoxious picture of it and then we would make up," Beale said. "But it never appeared again."