Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

The “Hokie Hiker” bird, the first of the Gobble de Art statues to be vandalized, was moved inside the Blacksburg Public Library after it was recovered. It originally stood next to the Huckleberry Trail.

BLACKSBURG -- "A Bird to Bank On" may have been found and "Hokie Hiker" repaired, but now Burruss Hall is missing.

While the former are two of the 5-foot-tall fiberglass Hokie Bird statues placed around downtown Blacksburg in a public art campaign, Burruss Hall is a hat that one of the painted birds was wearing.

The small, wooden replica of Virginia Tech's best-known building was taken off the head of a statue titled "Blacksburg -- Something for Everyone" sometime Friday night or early Saturday.

It's not the first statue to be vandalized, but damage has not been widespread, said Janet Johnson, chairwoman of the Blacksburg Partnership's Gobble de Art project that is placing the birds downtown.

Still, since February when the first statue was installed, one has been stolen, one has been moved from its base and several others were chipped or messed up in some way.

So many people have picked at the fake money on "Banker Bird" at Kent Square that it's impossible to tell the denomination of one of the bills.

The bells on the feet of "Carnival of the Mind" in front of Tech Bookstore keep disappearing. On Monday, only two of six remained.

Children can be seen trying to pry the keys off "Ho-Key Play" at the Blacksburg Farmers Market. Several empty spots are left where keys used to be glued.

Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Vandals have scratched at money held by the “Banker Bird,” sponsored by SunTrust Bank in front of Kent Square.

And, Johnson said, it appears that someone tried to pull "Holstein Hokie" off its base over the weekend.

The bird was installed at Foxridge Apartments on Saturday. The next day, Johnson went to check the installation and noticed that the bird was sitting at a funny angle.

The fiberglass was cracked, she said, where someone apparently pulled on the bird. It's since been removed for repair.

For the most part, Johnson said, people love the statues and would rather photograph them than vandalize them.

Asked if she's worried vandalism will increase when Tech classes resume next week and nearly twice as many people will be on the streets of Blacksburg, Johnson, a former Tech professor, said she doesn't assume students have been or will be responsible for any vandalism.

Blacksburg Town Manager Marc Verniel, a Tech alumnus and former Hokie football player, said students "ought to take a little pride" in the project and "recognize that it's their mascot ... If somebody's messing with them, they ought to report it or tell them to stop."

University Mall has purchased five of the $7,500 birds, said developer Bill Ellenbogen. None of the four installed there -- two inside and two outside -- has been damaged.

"It's very hard to predict the actions of vandals," he said, adding that they're likely "immature or inebriated."

"I am hopeful that people will act responsibly and that these acts will be isolated incidents," he said.

As for "Blacksburg -- Something for Everyone," a statue painted with a library, restaurants, the Farmers Market and other Blacksburg attractions, it will probably be left hatless while it's on public display, Johnson said.

Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

The “Something for Everyone” bird without its Burruss Hall hat.

Standing in front of the statue outside National Bank of Blacksburg on Monday afternoon, Jerry Via said the statue was his favorite and he was disappointed to see the Burruss Hall hat was missing.

"It feels like a member of the family when someone does something to one of them," Via said.

Helen Struthers, a librarian at the Blacksburg branch of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library, said people have been coming to the library to look for "Hokie Hiker," a statue that once stood at the head of the Huckleberry Trail.

After its hiking pole was stolen and then the bird was removed from its base, breaking off a toe, and carted down the trail, "Hokie Hiker" was repaired and moved to its new home in the library.

"We think it's lovely," Struthers said. "Children came running in here this morning saying, 'Hokie Bird!' "

"Here we can protect him," said Denise Burton, a circulation specialist at the library.

Struthers and Burton said they've seen people come into the library with a list of the birds, crossing off each one as they saw it.

"People are so enthused," Burton said.

"Hokie Hiker" will remain there until November, when it and several other birds that haven't been purchased are auctioned off.

Johnson said 75 statues were made. Of those, 54 have been installed, including seven that were put up Saturday.

Of those that haven't been installed, some just need a clear coat while others are still being painted. A few remain primer-colored and are awaiting a paint job.

And then there's at least one -- "A Bird to Bank On" -- that needs a touch-up.

"A Bird to Bank On" was stolen from its pedestal in front of First National Bank on North Main Street nearly two weeks ago. It was found Friday, dumped in the Deercroft housing development with several scuff marks.

Artist Natalie Siegel will touch up the bird in her studio before it's reinstalled, Johnson said.

Staff writer Tonia Moxley contributed to this report.