a bird in the hand

I came to work this morning in a bad mood. I can't seem to shake it, as I'm still angry about the laptop situation.

I wouldn't be so angry if using it didn't give me a headache by mid-afternoon. Besides having a tiny screen, I can't adjust the brightness. So every morning, it's like I'm waiting for the headache du jour.

Just before I turned into the parking lot, I noticed a small bird sitting in the middle of the street. It didn't look like a fledgling, but it didn't look injured either. So I pulled over and picked it up.

It turned out to be a lesser goldfinch. There seem to be quite a few of these near the office. It looked like this:

It was odd to be holding this little bird in my hands. I couldn't see any signs of injury close up, either.

I took it out of the street and put it on the ground, hoping it was just stunned. But as soon as it put it on the ground, it flew away and promptly lit in the nearest tree.  I can't imagine why it let me pick it up.