"The Bird" was Frank Thompson.
Fez was a very good friend of mine. He had so many road stories about he and Cowboy Jimmy Moore, Wimpy, Rags Fitzpatrick, Ralph Greenleaf and many others. Fez had also been a prizefighter when he was younger. I last saw Fez in 2004. He was 91 years old, and still made the rounds to every pool hall every day scouting the action, and selling cues. I saw Bobby Madrid a few years ago and had asked about Fez, Bobby told me that he had moved to be with his daughter in New Mexico.
I took many trips to Albuquerque with Fez back in the late 1980's to visit Jimmy Moore. They were very good friends, and it was amazing to hear them discuss their adventures. Fez was always a good friend to me, and we talked almost every day, even after his memory started to go. He would remember the stories of the road in great detail, he just wouldn't remember that he had told you the same story 3 times already that day. Many people in El Paso know that I would sit there (despite how many times he had told the same story) and make Fez feel as if it was the first time I had ever heard it. That drove some people crazy, but I owed a lot to Fez, and I just sat there wide eyed, hanging on every word (no matter who it annoyed). He was a fixture in the El Paso pool scene for many years. I am assuming that by now he has passed away. I miss him a lot.