Chapter 15- visiting Luke and a newcomer

Tulio's Aviary

The nightshift members of Tulio's team, along with the janitors and security officers, continued to work at the Aviary doing their jobs. In the main medical room of the Aviary, nightshift bird carers continued to watch over the sleeping birds and a few flying foxes, mostly those that had been injured, as they rested in their cages. Over the years, Tulio's Aviary had become more dedicated to caring for non-avian animals like flying foxes, bat-birds and even tree mammals such as marmosets, so it had essentially become Rio's hospital for the animals of the Blu Bird Sanctuary though it was still called Tulio's Aviary for birds were its main animals they cared for. Next to Tulio's Aviary was a new construction next to the building, a 'true' outdoor aviary built as a large glass dome. Over the previous four years, this large dome had been constructed and natural plants and trees had been brought in and planted in the new aviary to develop a natural jungle in the construct and mimic the forest on the sanctuary outside it.

The outside aviary had been built for birds not able to return to the wild due to life-changing injuries, though it housed a few flying foxes and bat-birds also not able to return and live in the wild as well, and because some of the residents in this new building were grounded birds, bat-birds or flying foxes, special supports such as ladders had also been built or placed against the trees and thin clothesline-like strings of rope tied from one end of the dome to the other above the artificial jungle to help the disabled birds, bat-birds and flying foxes, including those that had permanently lost their ability to fly due to severe wing injuries to perch at a limited height. One grounded bird that lived in here was a Spix macaw named Luke, and he had had his left wing amputated due to the serious damage he had sustained during the dog attack on him and a number of others including the eight Rio fruithawks as set up and schemed by the wicked Nigel. Because of just one wing, Luke could not return to the wild and had to live in an artificial environment. So in the artificial jungle dome, named the Blu Bird Sanctuary Enclosure for Permanently Maimed Birds and Other Animals, Luke lay in a low hollow with a ladder erected against the tree trunk to allow him to climb into and out of his permanent place of stay due to being not able to fly. His brown eyes gazed up at the transparent glass shell enclosing the mini jungle slashed by perching ropes as a number of the nocturnal residents were perched up there chatting, the majority of the diurnal residents having gone to their hollows or burrows to sleep. One of the resident flying foxes was also up there, clambering about with its hooked wing thumbs and clawed feet trying to find a quiet spot to rest and because it was night, the moonlight shining through the glass panes of the dome's roof, its eyes were gleaming. This flying fox had suffered a serious injury to its wing which, as with Luke, had left it grounded for life and unable to return to the natural jungle. However, it did not need its wing to be removed due to the extent of the damage being less severe as Luke's had been.

At the time of Luke's operation to amputate his severely mangled left wing, which had been damaged beyond repair in the dog attack, the enclosure had been in the process of construction so Luke, after his surgery and recovery from it, had to stay in Linda and Tulio's cottage as a house bird until it was completed. Linda had kept Blu's old cage which she had brought with her during her first journey to Rio when Blu was on his way to meet Jewel. She had decided to keep Blu's old cage just in case, and she had used it to house Luke until the enclosure was finished, opened and some birds unable to return to the wild introduced into it. During that time, Luke had been through an extremely stormy sea of depression and other negative emotions, the loss of his ability to fly destroying his confidence, self-esteem and heart. The hearts of the other macaws and friends had also had their hearts shattered but the macaws to be hit hard most were Blu and his immediate family. The devastating blow caused by the permanent grounding of one of their sons had really impacted Blu and Jewel greatly, along with the loss of Eddie, their adopted son salvaged from the decimated family of Jewel's pesky nemesis, Mertle and her daughter Aguamarina shortly after the Battle for the Sanctuary, and Carla, Bia, Tiago and Linda were extremely upset at losing an adopted brother and also their biological brother's ability to fly since he was no longer able to join them in the Sanctuary de Amazon or even the Blu Bird Sanctuary jungle. Flightless macaws could not survive in the wild without their ability to fly which was why the enclosure had been built, and Luke was to be one of the flightless inhabitants of the enclosure. No wonder a massive fissure had opened up between Blu and his family and the macaws who had nursed Nigel back to health under the thought that he had put behind his caustic hatred for exotic birds, among them Phobos and Deimos, back then, and Nigel's carers had been flooded with utmost regret for weeks following the incident. During Luke's time as a house bird, Blu and company had paid him frequent visits during their visits to Rio from the Sanctuary de Amazon. Even now, Luke was still sad at not being able to fly and he often sat alone gazing at the stump of what remained of his left wing and had been doing so since his surgery.

Due to the severe depression of losing his left wing and thus his ability to fly, Luke had refused to socialise with the other birds and flying foxes. The ornithologists caring for the enclosure had also tried to encourage Luke to pair up with a female Spix macaw to get him to breed but Luke absolutely refused to even interact with them, so any attempt to get him to pair up with a female was futile. However, Tulio and his team refused to give up in trying to introduce a female to the flightless macaw but they had decided to leave Luke alone for a while to try again later. As Luke continued to gaze sombrely at the moonlit dome roof, he heard the sounds of knocking at the hollow.

"Who is there?" groaned the one-winged macaw. In response, a familiar voice sounded outside his hollow.

"It's us," it said. It was a female and it belonged to a green-winged macaw. Recognising the owner of the voice as Aimee, Luke sat up and walked over to the exit/entrance of the hollow, climbed down the ladder and dropped before a group of familiar macaws, two toucans and two flying foxes. The visitors were Aimee, Titan, Agate and Poppy; Luke's sister Carla, brother-in-law Justin and two of his nieces Sonia and Melody, Luna, Ferdinand, Diantha and Aurora. As Luke gazed at the group of visitors, he breathed a miserable sigh. His right wing, the only wing he had left, rested by his side.

"Well, what's your visit about tonight?" he asked in a low, edgy voice clearly saturated with his mood, "the auditions coming on, I guess?"

"We've come to check on you, bro," said Carla, "and yes, the auditions are coming on just fine."

"And some of us are gonna participate," said Poppy excitedly as she stood with Agate, Sonia and Melody.

"We're gonna perform a dance act but we haven't decided on what song to use yet," said Agate.

"As well as what sequence the dance is gonna be," said Melody. Sonia just gazed at her sister and 'cousins' and shrugged.

"Ah," said Luke miserably, "Well, I'm glad to hear it," he then eyed the rest of the visitors, sombre looks on their faces, "and if you're asking how I am, I'm fine thanks," his gaze then turned to his missing left wing, "still miserable over not being able to fly even after all this time..."

"I can imagine," said Luna with sympathy. Then a look of fury formed on Ferdinand's face.

"Your loss of ability to fly, along with the untimely death of Eddie, your adopted brother, is all that vile cockatoo's doing," the young adult flying fox growled. His membranous wing then went to the stump of what once was his right ear while his other wing went to the scars on his torso, "And unfortunately, I have suffered terribly too. I lost an ear and got this across my front thanks to those dogs..." Ferdinand then wrapped his wings around his body, a look of volcanism on his face, "And I know I ABSOLUTELY refuse to hurt or even kill a bird but if I had found that cockatoo, I would have slain him without hesitation."

"Mom and Dad have already done that, Ferdinand," said Carla with no sympathy for Nigel whatsoever, "And I heard that they have ensured that that cockatoo (bleep) went down an EXTREMELY slow and painful path to his end as well, to make him suffer all the anguish he had inflicted on all of us..." and as she said this, a scornful smirk formed on Carla's face as she relished what agony Nigel must have suffered as he was dying from the fatal wound Blu and Jewel had inflicted on him and the one to inflict the excruciating deathblow had been Jewel. Titan and Justin shot the chubby Spix macaw a rather annoyed look, especially at her scorn at Nigel's demise. As much as they despised the cockatoo as well especially after the dog incident he had set up and initiated, they did not like to hear any mocking of him and his going through agony. However, it was no surprise. Blu and Jewel, especially Jewel who was ten times worse than a momma bear, were NOT a couple you want to mess with, especially their offspring. Dare endanger her chicks, and you'll be on the receiving end of a pyroclastic flow in the form of savage claws and beak from Blu's mate, and believe me, when Jewel strikes, she does so with absolute force and bloody brutality, and Nigel got a full taste of that in another story after what he had done to Carla, Bia and Tiago in particular. Another time, a mean human had deliberately hurt Tiago when he was taking Matilda, Bellatrix and Bartholomew out for a flight and he had received a savage slashing from the mother macaw, and believe me, it had been absolutely bloody.

Putting aside this depressing subject, Carla and the other visitors moved on as Diantha stepped forward.

"There's another reason why we've come to visit you," she said. Luke slowly raised his head to look at the toco/keel-billed hybrid toucan, the colourful mixing of Eva and Rafael's beak colour on her own indicating her heritage. "We're wondering if you might be interested in joining our audition for the BBSU."

"That's short for Blu Bird Sanctuary Untamed by the way," put in Lillie. Luke, at this, flinched at this question.

"B-b-but I can't fly and NEVER will for the rest of my life," he said, "and you know full well that I cannot return to the forest because of that. My place is here..."

"I know, but we've got quite a number of grounded animals participating," said Carla.

"Finnick the macaroni penguin and his troupe of tap-dancing penguins are one," added Justin, "The troupe of circus marmosets led by one of Mauro's sons Dustin, who thankfully isn't a thief like his father and siblings, are another, and we've got some friendly city cats and dogs, one band of cats being Shakespeare play experts..."

Luke, at this, gazed at Carla's mate, a glint of interest showing in his look. Then his face fell as his misery returned.

"I'll think about it," he groaned miserably, "but it's a bit late to be asking me and the other residents about the auditions for your BBSU event. Now if you don't mind, I wanna get some sleep. Please come again in the morning."

And with that, he turned and climbed up his ladder before finally disappearing into his hollow. Carla and the other looked on for a few second before finally turning, spreading their wings and launching into flight, Ferdinand and Luna climbing up a tree trunk to catch air. Then the group made for one of the open panes of glass in the dome roof.

"Well, he did express interest but I don't think he is keen on participating," said Aimee, a glance back at Luke's hollow.

"The loss of his left wing and ability to fly have severely impacted him, I can tell you," said Diantha, her voice edgy as she felt her emotions at seeing the stump of what remained of Luke's left wing bubbling within her. Sonia and Melody, as they flew alongside Carla and Justin, also felt a tear run down their cheek for their uncle while Poppy, Aurora and Agate breathed sad sighs. Then a furious look saturated with resentment crossed Carla's face.

"Nigel certainly got what he wanted, I can tell you," she said to the others, "Revenge by devastating his two MOST DETESTED nemeses and their family by grounding one of them and killing another. He did say that he always wanted to make us, especially Dad, feel the loss and devastation of his ability to fly and he had managed to achieve that by grounding Luke permanently."

"Yes, but he also paid the penalty in facing the wrath of an enraged Spix macaw mother," said Aimee with a severe look, "If that crested slime ball had EVER lured my daughters Ryn and Agate and step-chicks Poppy, Castor and Pollux into danger like THAT as set up by him," she stole a glance at Poppy and Agate as she said this, "I'd have exploded into a fireworks display of utmost fury."

"That fireworks display would be NOWHERE NEAR that of Mom, Aimee," said Carla, "And believe me, it is NOT a fireworks display you would WANT to witness."

"She could even potentially explode into a savage fury like that of the late Brutus," said Justin and as he said this, he quivered as he remembered at how Jewel had lost her temper so much toward the human that had deliberately hurt Tiago that she practically turned into a Spix macaw version of Brutus and absolutely viciously clawed the person's face in, resulting in the person being admitted to hospital to have his mangled face stitched. However, unlike Brutus, Jewel NEVER directed her EXTREME wrath at her own allies OR allowed her fury to explode indiscriminately at other animals or humans that did not do anything against her or her friends and family. It was ONLY aimed at the offenders, and it was absolutely true. You do NOT, repeat: NOT... want to get on Jewel's bad side by injuring her friends and family or you'd be facing an EXTREMELY savage Spix macaw version of an ENRAGED cat, and Jewel certainly isn't hesitant in using her claws and beak full force when in a volcanic eruption against you if you EVER harmed her mate, offspring, relatives or friends, and she had unleashed this fury mode on a certain flying fox who had been the matriarch of the colony after she had broken Blu's wing. Blu also had the potential to be extremely violent whenever his close friends and family were threatened or hurt but he was not as violent and as savage as Jewel. Pushing aside the subject on Jewel's explosive fury whenever her mate or offspring or friends got badly hurt, Carla and the others left the enclosure, exiting via an open pane in the glass roof, plans to return to Luke tomorrow morning in their minds.

Next morning, back in the Sanctuary de Amazon

Bia, Virgil, Tiago and Matilda, together with Sirius, Bellatrix and Spica, were out foraging with Spyro, Marella and Altair who rode on their bat-bird mounts. Their place of choice was an area in the territory of Lily's Village, called the multi-fruit grove since quite a diversity of fruit trees and bushes grew here, and one of the bushes was a small cluster of camu-camu fruit. The green and Lear's tribes had a bigger grove of camu-camu bushes which they shared but when they were in conflict years ago, the macaws remained on their respective sides but now they were free to eat together. As the group of macaws and archaeobirds browsed a mango tree for any ripe mangoes, Virgil was wondering about Sandalwood and Connie.

"Have Sandalwood and his grey-headed mate set to having their first pup yet?" he asked the others.

"It's between them at the moment, dear," said Bia as she perched on a branch examining a cluster of mangoes with Sirius, their son, helping, "Sandalwood did tell us that he would like to keep it between himself and Connie until Connie shows signs of expecting."

"They certainly are an awesome couple, aren't they?" said Spica who stood with Matilda, "So passionate and caring toward each other. Wish I had a male macaw who is as caring."

"Same here with a female archaeobird," said Altair as he examined a mango with Marella. The mother and son, as well as the father, Spyro, were perched on a branch also, their bat-bird mounts waiting nearby. Then a thought entered Spyro's head.

"Oh, did you guys hear of a night out to Skyla and Jairo's club some of our teenagers are planning?" asked the archaeobird. His mate, son and the Spix macaws turned to him.

"Gladion and Lillie were the ones to suggest it," continued Spyro, "And Steven, Sardonyx and Greg's son, would like to come as well for Steven mentioned he had a date he'd like to take."

"We would like to go too," said Sirius with Bellatrix, Spica and Altair nodding in agreement.

"That sounds nice," said Bia as she picked a ripe mango from the cluster and placed it into a leaf bag Tiago and Matilda had brought with the group, "It would be great if our teenagers went."

At this, a smile of delight formed on Sirius's beak.

"It would make a great source of inspiration for our auditions too," said Matilda.

"What date is Steven planning on asking out?" asked Spica.

"Well, it's definitely a female red macaw but he hasn't mentioned which one," said Marella as she handed another mango to Matilda and Tiago to pack into the leaf bag, "But I'm glad he's establishing a relationship with a female."

"He's a very respectful male, isn't he?" asked Bellatrix, "So is his brother Kevin I've been told."

"Are Betelgeuse and Rigel coming?" asked Altair. At this, a look of disappointment and disapproval crossed Bia's face.

"I'm afraid Sheldon has completely banned those two from ever going out anywhere," she said, "and that includes Jairo and Skyla's club, sadly."

"But why?" said Virgil "There's nothing wrong about that club."

"And besides that, Jairo and their family and their helpers are always careful that the clubbers are well behaved," put in Tiago, "That being reinforced with a strict behaviour policy such as no fighting, respect for other clubbers..."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Io is certainly getting sick of Sheldon's overprotective attitude of their daughters, I can tell you," said Spyro as he mounted his bat-bird to prepare to fly to another tree, "She would like the pair to go to the club with the others but Sheldon is absolutely refusing to allow Betelgeuse and Rigel even an inch out of the lodging tree, and that had landed those two in another falling out yet again..."

Bia and the others said nothing. This morning, Io and Sheldon had had another heated argument with Io eventually leaving with Betelgeuse and Rigel in tow to go somewhere quiet much to Sheldon's utmost dismay and chagrin. If Sheldon did not allow any leeway for his daughters soon, his relationship with his family would land in jeopardy of cracking and fissuring, and he certainly wasn't even keen on letting Betelgeuse to date either. Moving on, the group fluttered towards another type of tree, a peach tree. However, as the group flew along, Bia's eyes landed on a blue form as it glided gracefully into the scene, prompting her to slow to a hover. Tiago continued to talk with the others, not noticing at first that his sister had spotted something.

"If Sheldon doesn't allow his daughters..." he began when suddenly, he crashed into his sister's back. Matilda and Virgil lurched forward and caught the pair before they could plummet, the others looking on in shock. Tiago then shot his sister a glare.

"Be careful, sis!" he growled, "You could have sent us both..."

Suddenly, his eyes spotted the newcomer, cutting him off.

"Careening through the canopy," he whispered in a dreamy voice, awed by the newcomer's beautiful appearance. Sirius, Virgil, Matilda, Spica, Bellatrix, Spyro, Marella, Altair and their bat-birds also gazed in utmost awe at the newcomer, which was a very beautiful macaw and based on its appearance and feather colours, the macaw was a Spix and a female. The macaw sported a very beautiful lithe build. Her feathers were an aqua blue colour and her eyes were lavender. Her head feathers were long and resembled Sapphire's and Nagini's, and her head was snowy white. Her aqua blue colour faded to darker aqua down her wing flight feathers, her tail and her hair, and she had a hint of turquoise on her front. Her beauty rivalled that of Jojo, Felix, Lavender, Ophelia and Chilro, the five offspring of Roberto and Brisa, and her voice was just as crystalline, and she also had a cherubic rounded face, much like some of Penelope's offspring like Nagini and Darla. As the macaw's purple eyes found Bia and company, her beak which was slate grey, formed a smile.

"Coo-ee," she cooed as she sailed past the group. Bia, Tiago, Sirius, Virgil, Matilda, Spica and Bellatrix continued to hover there, stunned gazes glued to the newcomer Spix macaw as Spyro flew in on his bat-bird.

"Whoa, so that's what a female Spix macaw is supposed to look like?" he asked. At this, Marella shot her mate a glare as this was rather insensitive, especially to Bia, Matilda, Spica and Bellatrix prompting Spyro to issue an apology. Tiago and Virgil then flew in, the former's talons clutching the leaf bag of the two mangoes.

"Well, NO female macaw is as attractive as MY mate," growled Tiago, resisting the temptation to gawk at the newcomer Spix macaw's beauty, as this would be very bad behaviour for his mate, daughter, sister, nephew and niece. Virgil also looked away and screwed his eyes shut to avoid that same temptation for the newcomer Spix macaw was indeed extremely attractive. Bia then pulled her gaze from the newcomer as she glided gracefully away into the trees, her mind on continuing the forage.

"Let's just..." she began but then suddenly, squawks of distress erupted, pulling her gaze back to the newcomer macaw who was squawking. Marella gazed at the macaw as she plummeted towards a tree crisscrossed with creeping vines.

"She looks like she's struggling to fly and sidestep that web of vine tendrils," said the archaeobird to the others, "We must help her NOW!"

At this, Bia and the others hovered there but then some of them relented and rocketed off after the macaw, the three archaeobirds on their bat-birds in tow. Tiago, Matilda, Sirius and Virgil, however, stayed behind. Two of the males had another reason for this decision.

"We'll continue the forage while you help that macaw," said Tiago.

"Yeah, we don't want this task getting delayed," continued Sirius. With that the pair, together with Virgil and Matilda, resumed their forage, the leaf bag clutched in Tiago's talons.

The beautiful newcomer macaw continued flapping clumsily, heading straight for the net of green ropes until finally, she ended up tangled in the web, the green vines wrapping around her wings, talons, head and body. As she flapped and writhed wildly, Bia and the others with her apart from four arrived.

"Don't flail in an attempt to free yourself, Ma'am," called Bia, "you'll only entangle yourself more."

"Yes, and you could hurt yourself," added Spyro as he dismounted his bat-bird, Garnet, after landing on a branch, "and that can be bad for a vine around your neck."

The panicked Spix macaw, her wings horribly entangled in dozens of vines, gazed at the archaeobird and shuddered. Then Bia, Bellatrix, Spica, Marella, Altair and Spyro positioned themselves around the macaw and began to bite through the vines to free her. The Spix macaw began to speak.

"Oh, those WRETCHED breezes that blow through the treetops, honestly," she growled in anger, "They're not half unpredictable."

"I've been in that predicament before," said Marella as she used her toothed muzzle-beak to cut the vines entangling the macaws' wings to free them.

"They're especially dangerous in storms," said Bellatrix as she snipped through the vines above the macaw with her beak. Her pigtail-like crests brushed against the green tendrils. "High winds can make flying particularly difficult as the flow of air can interfere with the system of lift and drag forces on the wing which carry us flying creatures forward..."

The entangled Spix macaw shot the young blue version of Matilda a confused look but Bia explained.

"Please forgive us for my niece's tendency to use technical terms," she said as she bit through another vine, "but she is a lot like me and my father even though she is my brother's daughter."

Bellatrix flashed her aunt an embarrassed look and continued cutting through the vines, saying nothing to Bia's remark, but it was true. She was clearly like her aunt and her grandfather: intelligent and scientific-minded and this trait was shared by some of her cousins, one of them being Spica despite her being Carla and Justin's daughter. As the archaeobirds and the macaws continued to free the Spix macaw, more and more green tendrils draping over her and her range of movements becoming increased, Garnet and the other two bat-birds went to check the condition of the open air enveloping the treetops. To their surprise, they only saw a small waver of the nearby trees' branches. Garnet even launched into flight to test the breeze himself. He flew away and then back to the tree, allowing a breeze to blow at him. However, to his surprise, the breeze was not strong enough to blow him into a clumsy flight. Confused, the bat-bird touched down with his two comrades. Then as soon as the Spix macaw was free, she flapped to a perch, brushed off the remains of the thick green threads and thanked Bia and the others with her.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," she said, "But you have indeed been a big help."

"No worries," said Bia, before a firm look formed on her face, "but next time, be careful of sudden breezes and watch where you're flying."

"And if you ever end up entangled in vines again, make sure you use your beak," said Spyro, "It's the best tool to get out of a tangled situation like that."

"Thank you," said the macaw before she began to introduce herself. "By the way, my name's Samara. What's yours?"

"Oh, I'm Bia," said Bia, before gesturing to the two teenaged Spix macaws with her, "And these are my nieces, Bellatrix and Spica," she then gestured to the three archaeobirds, "And this is Spyro, his mate Marella and their son Altair."

"We're not alone, however," said Spyro, "Bia's mate, her brother and his mate, and nephew are foraging over there," he pointed a wing-claw in the direction of Virgil, Tiago, Matilda and Sirius. At this, Samara followed the point and saw four blue forms hovering with a leaf bag under them, before returning a smiley gaze at Bia and company.

"You must have quite a family then," she said.

"I do," said Bia proudly, "In fact I'm the mother of three sons. My mate's name is Virgil and our sons are called Sirius, Einstein and Miles. As for myself, I'm born from a clutch of three and have two additional siblings as well. My sister's name is Carla and my brother's name's Tiago. Those two also have a mate and chicks each..."

"That's nice," said Samara, the newcomer Spix macaw but then her face fell, "I used to have a big family too but sadly, I lost all of them when I was those two's age," she nodded to Bellatrix and Spica as she said this. The two cousins exchanged glances and shrugged.

"How," continued Samara, a sombre look on her face forming, "it's too painful to discuss."

Bia, Bellatrix, Spica, Altair, Marella and Spyro put on sympathetic looks. Nearby, Garnet and the other two bat-birds looked on curiously at Samara, still wondering about her clumsy flight despite the low breeze that caressed the treetops. Then Samara felt it was time to leave.

"Well, I'd better be off," she said, "I don't wanna hold you lot up with your forage and I can see your four friends or relatives or whatever are hovering over there, clearly impatient, so I'll see you guys again sometime."

With that, the beautiful Spix macaw opened her wings and took off, leaving Bia and the others to gaze after her and wave goodbye.

"She certainly is a nice Spix macaw, isn't she?" said Bia with a smile. Spyro frowned at the macaw as she receded into the distance.

"Yeah, but eye-catching in her looks as well," he said, "NOT the sort of macaw you would want to have around if you're a male Spix who is coupled with chicks."

"Any wonder why Tiago and Virgil continued the forage while we helped her out," said Marella. Just then, four more blue forms arrived, the leaf bag clutched in their talons.

"Is it alright if we resumed the forage now?" asked Tiago. Near him, Sirius, Matilda and Virgil hovered nearby. Bia smiled, opened her wings and took off with Bellatrix and Spica following while the three archaeobirds mounted their bat-birds and commanded them into flight. Within moments, the forage was back on track.

"I sure hope Samara doesn't run into any more trouble," said Bia, a glance behind the group in Samara's direction, "certainly not with this case going on with a serial killer Dad had deduced after three macaws had been horribly murdered."

"She's part of our species as well for she shares our features," said Matilda, "I think the next time we meet her, we might wanna bring her to our tribe and have her become one of us for her safety."

"Let's just resume our forage," said Tiago and with that the seven Spix macaws and three archaeobirds on their bat-birds resumed their forage. As they did so, Bellatrix gazed to Spica, Altair and Sirius.

"The loss of her family as a teenager, folks?" she said, "Now that is tragic."

"Sounds like she's been through the same sort of devastating loss as Uncle Beto when he was young," said Spica, "But by my calculations, the possibility of the cause of her tragedy being poaching or deforestation is probably about... 60 percent."

"We have only just met her so we don't know, Spica," said Altair, "So there's no point guessing."

"Yes, it's only an assumption," put in Sirius. Spica just breathed a sad sigh and resumed helping the adults to continue the forage.