The Michael Vick of the PGA Tour

Tripp Isenhour doesn't exactly strike fear and trepidation in the hearts of his fellow PGA Tour members, but birds everywhere are going into hiding when he reaches for his 7-iron.

Isenhour is being charged with birdslaughter after nailing a red-shouldered hawk with a golf stroke, allegedly on purpose.

Isenhour, who finished the 2007 ranked 105th on the tour, was filming a TV show called "Shoot like a Pro" in mid-December, when the bird had the nerve to squawk. It ruined the take, so naturally, he fired off a shot at the bird to scare it off.

But the bird, which had been about 300 yards away, ventured perilously closer to the wild-eyed Isenhour. Which is when, according to some on the scene, Isenhour muttered something like "I'll get him now." Isenhour didn't get him on the first shot -- he's no Tiger Woods, you know -- but his persistence paid off, and moments later the bird fell to the ground, and it was pronounced dead at the scene.

Someone at the scene gave the bird a proper burial at the course, probably a few feet from the second cut of rough. But the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission later dug it up, launched an investigation, and got Isenhour charged with cruelty to animals.

Isenhour has, of course, launched an apology, saying that he is an "animal lover," has adopted three ugly cats from the local shelter, and all the rest. But if the bird lovers have their way, Isenhour could do up to 14 months in jail.

If only the bird had kept its stupid beak shut.