Thunderbird 3 hit actual bird during Air Force Academy flyover

Many people noticed something strange about the Air Force Thunderbirds’ performance over the Air Force Academy graduation on Thursday: one of the jets was missing after the initial flyover.

The announcer at Falcon Stadium prepared spectators to see the “diamond formation,” but thousands of eyes only spotted a triangle flying through the sky.

Blame a bird.

No, not the Thunderbirds — an actual bird struck the canopy of Thunderbird 3, forcing the pilot to return to Peterson Air Force Base, according to the Air Force.

WATCH THE PERFORMANCE:

Thunderbird 3 landed safely and has since departed back to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

While it’s not officially confirmed: unless this bird was born on Krypton, it’s most likely dead after fighting a bigger, harder bird.

The strike isn’t what caused the performance delay, though. That delay was due to presidential movement, according to the Air Force.