It was the fourth day back in the Conservation Center for Blu and Jewel. Blu was preening his wings to get feathers in good order after finishing his flight training for the morning. His flying was clearly improving, but he still had a long way to go before becoming a good flier.

The feat of carrying Jewel to safety didn't seem to have a rational explanation, and Blu could not count on repeating it in the future.

Jewel had reassured Blu that he was doing well, considering he had learned to fly only recently. She estimated that he might be an average flier in three months and slowly develop even after that. However, she had reminded him that these were uncertain estimates and depended on him doing the work.

"Blu, how did you end up with Linda, and how was your life with her?" Jewel asked Blu, which made him slightly worried. He didn't feel ashamed of his life but couldn't expect a wild bird like Jewel to appreciate it. He wanted Jewel to respect him and not think badly of Linda either.

Blu told Jewel how he was transported after capture and how the box containing him had fallen from the truck. If young Linda hadn't found him, he wouldn't have survived long in the cold. On the other hand, he would likely have ended up in much worse hands if the box hadn't fallen.

Blu described how Linda hand-fed him and gradually introduced solid foods over several months. Eventually, he didn't need hand feeding anymore.

He also explained that he and Linda spent most of the time together, excluding school. She showed him pictures and things and talked a lot. She even had him around when she did homework and explained it to him. Gradually Blu learned to understand spoken English. After several years, he learned to read and eventually understood many things about human society.

Blu described how Linda taught him minor tasks that made him feel useful and how they did funny things to amuse each other. He also explained to Jewel how he hung around in the bookshop, watched people come and go, and read books and magazines. He also described how Linda set up her apartment to have great climbing opportunities that he used a lot.

Occasionally an acquaintance of Linda brought her African gray parrot over to spend time with him. It was nice to talk with a friendly bird from time to time. She wasn't much of a flier because she wasn't young anymore, and her wing feathers had been clipped until her current human inherited her. Therefore, Blu couldn't learn to fly by observing her. After sharing the facts, they avoided talking about flying.

"Was she pretty," Jewel teased Blu while not looking serious. Blu felt relieved that Jewel didn't seem shocked or disappointed about how he had lived until recently.

"I don't know," Blu stated. "We were so different as species. There wasn't any attraction, and I can't tell by the standards of her kind," he continued. "How were your childhood and your days with your flock?" Blu asked Jewel in turn.

"My parents took good care of me as a chick, and my juvenile years didn't have much drama," Jewel told him. "I was a good flyer for my age and eventually better than most mature Spix's macaws. I learned my survival skills well and was told I was pretty. I chose my boyfriend well before I became an adult, which was pretty common in our flock."

"She must have been popular among young males," Blu thought. "I hope she doesn't see me as inferior compared to them."

Jewel told him how foraging for food took many hours each day. She explained how it was common for large groups to gather to socialize before sleep in the evening. She told him parrots often rested during the hottest hours of the day, and the time left from foraging was spent hanging out as couples or groups of friends.

She also told him about exploring. Sometimes those without a mate or couples without young children left their territory to see more of the rainforest. It was a way to show off or to get variety in life. Some tried to find a suitable place for a new colony, but all failed. Jewel told Blu how parrots occasionally had flying competitions. She told him how they sang in groups and how some birds even did solo singing. She also revealed they sometimes danced socially in the air or in the trees.

"Not on the ground like we did during our adventure?" blu asked.

"Too dangerous to do in a rainforest," Jewel answered.

For Blu, that kind of life sounded quite pleasant for those that grew into it and survived to adulthood. He didn't believe he would do well if thrown among a wild parrot flock; even if he survived, he would miss many human-made things.

Finally, Jewel revealed to Blu how they sometimes gathered a group to pressure a blue and gold macaw, a couple, or a family to leave the Spix's macaw territory. To discourage resistance, they gathered about five Spix's macaws for each blue and gold macaw. She seemed ashamed of that but said it was necessary for the flock to survive.

"Were there often deaths from such encounters?" Blu asked, feeling a little sick.

"There wasn't a real fight during my lifetime," Jewel said. "We never engaged before gathering adequate numbers, and they always left without a fight. However, according to my dad, there had been some fights in the past. He didn't want to tell me more about them before I was older, even though I was already an adult."

"Did Spix's macaws ever go to their territory?" Blu asked.

"They lived everywhere around us, but they didn't guard large areas," Jewel answered. "They steered us away from some places, probably nest sites, but mostly they let us pass. However, they usually looked at us with annoyance, and our size difference made that quite intimidating."

"Did they ever retaliate against birds that were alone or in smaller groups?" Blu asked.

"Not that we knew of," Jewel answered. "Of course, if such things happened rarely and there were no witnesses, we might not know about it."

For Blu, their relations sounded quite tense, but he could imagine worse. He was also confident it wouldn't affect him because it happened far away, and sadly, the territory Spix's macaws had defended burned down years ago.

It was the fifth day since the Spix's macaws had returned to the Conservation Center. In the morning, Blu had a request for Tulio.

Tell me
what I need
know about
breeding

"You don't trust that your instincts will tell you enough?" Tulio had asked, and Blu had shaken his head. He remembered how he had embarrassed himself with faulty assumptions and didn't want a repeat of it. Besides, he wanted to know how breeding with Jewel would affect his life if it ever happened.

"Sure, I can do it," Tulio had promised. "I will prepare for a lesson and come for you then."

Now Blu was standing on Tulio's desk. "You probably know the most basic things," Tulio started. "Chicks come from eggs, female birds lay eggs, and there needs to be mating to get chicks."

Blu nodded to show he knew those things. However, he was less sure about the details. He hadn't believed he would ever become a parent, and birds' reproductive biology wasn't often discussed among humans. He didn't remember for sure but suspected that even nature documents left out many details.

"I think Jewel already told you that she needs to have bonded with a male, and it must be the breeding season before she can breed, right?" Tulio reminded Blu of their earlier discussion. Blu remembered and nodded to show it.

"She needs three more things before she can have eggs," Tulio informed. "A nest, right kind of food, and a living space without much disturbances," he listed. "We can provide them," he assured. "In the wild, most parrots use hollows in trees as nests. In captivity, a box of appropriate size with an entry hole and wood shavings on the bottom usually works as a nest," he continued.

"We don't have a nest now," Blu thought but realized they wouldn't have eggs or chicks for a while either. He had been content without anything resembling a nest, and Jewel hadn't asked for one either. It occurred to him that a nest likely wasn't needed outside the breeding season.

"Common misunderstanding is that mating starts egg development," Tulio said. "In reality, the environment triggers the process in a female's body," he stated. "Mating is still needed to fertilize the eggs. Otherwise, they would be infertile and never hatch. If you and Jewel are together during the next breeding season and her body starts to get ready for eggs, your body should react to hers and get ready to fertilize them," Tulio informed. "At some point, you and Jewel should get an urge to mate. Then you are supposed to mate," he advised.

Tulio showed Blu a video clip of two macaws mating. He gave Blu pointers about things he should note and remember. Although Blu considered the video educational, watching it with Tulio felt awkward, and his cheeks started to feel hot. Blu thought that getting the right parts to touch while keeping balance seemed challenging. The pair in the video appeared to enjoy the challenge. "That task might not be so bad," Blu thought.

"Macaw mates typically continue mating at least once a day for several days to give every egg a chance to get fertilized," Tulio informed. Next, he showed Blu a video clip where a female macaw laid an egg. For Blu, it looked uncomfortable, and he felt sorry for Jewel in advance. However, if he stayed with her, they could get eggs, and saving their species required it.

"Macaws have clutches of several eggs that they lay one at a time. The time interval between laying is two days," Tulio informed. "I expect Jewel to produce two to four eggs once a year," he added. "She might produce more, but I won't push her to it," Tulio assured. Blu didn't know what pushing Jewel to produce more would mean, but he was all for not doing it.

"If you have too many eggs to incubate, we can incubate some of them," Tulio promised. "If you have more chicks than you can handle, we can help with them," he continued. Blu wasn't sure what Jewel would think about such help, but that kind of safety net didn't sound too bad for him.

"Eggs must be incubated without long breaks until they hatch," Tulio advised. "They must be kept warm and turned from time to time. They should hatch about 26 days after laying," he continued. Tulio showed a video of a female macaw incubating and her mate coming to feed her. Tulio explained that usually, only the female incubated the eggs while her mate fed her.

Blu felt uncomfortable about the idea of feeding Jewel. Humans didn't regurgitate food, and he had no memory of his parents feeding him. When Linda fed him, she used a tiny squeeze bottle or a spoon. Blu thought he might prefer sharing the incubation role so Jewel could get food for herself.

Tulio showed Blu a video clip of a chick hatching, which seemed to take a long time. "Macaw chicks are tiny, helpless, and mostly featherless after hatching," Tulio informed. "They require food very often, and during the first days, they also need help from their parents to keep warm. The chicks will grow fast and may eventually weigh more than their adult weight," Tulio added.

Tulio showed another video that combined shorter clips. It showed parents feeding their two chicks that eventually grew from hatchlings to close to leaving the nest. Again Blu felt uncomfortable seeing parents regurgitating food for their chicks. The parents seemed busy but not bothered by it. Instead, they looked pretty content.

For Blu, the growth of the chicks was an interesting thing to see. Eventually, their eyes opened, and they gained size fast. Gradually feathers grew, and in the end, the parrot chicks were close to their parents' weight, and their feathers had grown close to the size needed for flying. Blu didn't consider hatchlings appealing, but as the chicks grew, they started to look cuter to him.

"The chicks can fly when they are a little over two months old, but parents must continue feeding for about two additional months," Tulio informed after the clip ended before showing a photograph. "This is how you looked when Linda found you. You can expect your chicks to fly soon when they approach this look," he said. Blu looked at the old photograph of himself. It wasn't apparent that he was a chick needing feeding if one didn't know what features to look at. He felt grateful that Linda had somehow known what to do.

"Here, you can see macaw parents feeding their chick who has already learned to fly and left the nest," Tulio explained while starting a new video clip. The chick was about the same size as its parents. Blu tried to imagine having a chick as big as him who still needed feeding. Then he imagined three such chicks around him and Jewel asking for food. The thought didn't calm him.

The last video clips Blu saw made him think that Tulio expected him to raise the chicks in addition to fertilizing the eggs. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. He wasn't ready to ask Jewel's opinion yet, either. She already suspected she wouldn't get released when her wing healed, but Blu was still worried that getting confirmation of her fears might adversely affect her healing. After she was better, they would have to talk about these things even though Blu could imagine several ways for Jewel to react badly.

"Are you already eager to become a father?" Tulio asked. Blu shook his head.

"Are you strongly against it?" Tulio asked, sounding worried. He looked relieved when Blu shook his head again.

"I really hope you and Jewel become parents during the next breeding season, and it will be a good experience for you," Tulio said. "Do you have any questions?" he asked.

Blu had learned new things about breeding and felt he needed time to think before asking more about it. However, he had a question in his mind already before the lesson.

What
saving our species
mean
in the end?

"I hope we can one day reintroduce Spix's macaws to Caatinga," Tulio revealed. "But first, we would need a much larger population, and nature should be restored in an area where the population could live. We would also need to start co-operation with the local people so that they would help preserve nature and prevent poaching. We would also keep a separate population elsewhere to minimize the extinction risk," he added.

"Our goal is bigger than just saving Spix's macaws from extinction," Tulio continued. "Other animals and plants exist in Caatinga and have declined because of human activity. We want to restore the ecosystem of Caatinga at least partially. A highly noticeable species like you can motivate people to act."

"Great, more pressure," Blu thought to himself. "Entire ecosystem may depend on me mating with Jewel."

Twenty days had gone by since Blu arrived in Rio. After breakfast, Tulio and Linda came in with a bird carrier.

"Hello Blu, would you come and spend some time with me?" Linda asked. "You can return to Jewel after a while."

Blu explained the situation to Jewel and entered the carrier. Soon he, Tulio, and Linda entered the big room where he and Jewel first met.

Tulio looked around, checking that everything was ok, and exited the room. Linda opened the carrier, raised his hand in front of her, and looked at Blu.

Blu was curious because this was the first time he had been in the big room since returning to the Conservation Center. He hovered up and landed on Linda's hand, looking at her.

"I'm sorry that we haven't spent longer times together after you came back," Linda said. "Tulio and Alan believe that having you around is good for Jewel's healing. At the same time, they don't want too much presence of humans around her. Tulio has to go in to give pain medicine and food. I am allowed to visit to keep you happy so that you keep Jewel happy."

Blu had already deducted all this, and he nodded.

"What do you think about Tulio? Is he okay in your eyes?" Linda asked.

Blu was surprised by the question, and instead of thinking about the answer, he tried to guess why Linda asked it. The explanations he thought about didn't make much sense until he wondered if Linda was attracted to Tulio. Even if she was, Blu expected her to return to the USA soon.

Blu noticed that Linda was waiting for an answer. He concentrated on her question. Tulio had turned his life upside down, but there was a good cause. There were also good sides to the changed situation. He was in love with lovely Spix's macaw lady; he had learned to fly, freed dozens of birds from smugglers, and saw many exciting things. Tulio was also likable in a strange way. Even Jewel had lately admitted it. Blu made up his mind and nodded twice to Linda.

"Do you like Jewel?" Linda then asked. Blu thought it should have been obvious but nodded again without hesitation.

Linda smiled widely at his answers. "Tulio and I have started to like each other," she revealed. "We haven't known each other very long, but we think we might be a good match and want to see how things between us will develop. So - I am going to move to Rio."

Blu opened his beak in surprise.

"I have to warn you of two things," Linda continued. "First: people sometimes date for a while and then separate. I can't promise to be here forever. Second: I can't simply stay in Rio. I need to put my things in order in Moose lake. I also really want to see my parents now that you are in good hands."

"I will fly to the USA tomorrow and stay there for a while," Linda said. "Try to be brave in the meanwhile! You have Jewel with you, and Tulio is looking after you. If everything goes as planned, I will be back here in two weeks," Linda informed. "Even if there are delays, I'll come as soon as possible and ask Tulio to let you know," she promised. "What do you think?" Linda asked.

Blu was pleased to hear he could meet Linda also in the future. Linda finding love for herself was also good news. Blu made a flapping motion with his wings to show it.

Linda made a gesture to a surveillance camera before continuing. "You can train your flying in this room today but be careful because you have no prior experience flying among obstacles."

Blu nodded, and Linda lifted her thumb from over his toes. Blu looked around and saw a clear path to a branch far from Linda. He launched in the air, flew to the branch, and landed. Then he started to look around to decide on the next step.

He saw Tulio coming in and taking Linda's hand. On a whim, he flew back and landed on Tulio's shoulder. He made some preening motions to Tulio's hair before choosing the next place to land, launching in the air and flying to it.

Blu continued flying along clear paths from branch to branch for a while. He noticed that Tulio and Linda watched him with smiles and held hands. Blu started to feel more confident and decided he would begin with a clear path but try to switch his direction to a different landing point while flying if it seemed safe.

After managing to change direction between launch and landing several times, Blu decided to up the game. He would try to do several direction changes in a row. He reminded himself that he should only make a turn if he could see a safe path; if not, he would land at the earlier spotted safe spot.

After a while, Blu had managed to do four direction changes between a launch and landing. He thought it was a good exercise but wondered if he should try something else now. He then realized he had only flown slowly by now.

Blu moved to a spot that gave him a long and wide path to another branch. He reminded himself he should start slowing down well before the branch to make a safe landing. He launched and pushed his flight muscles to flap hard.

He felt the rate of flaps increase, air caressing his cheeks, and saw trees pass him faster. It felt pretty exhilarating, but it lasted only a moment before he had to stop flapping and start braking. His landing was spot on.

Blu started to feel fatigued in his muscles. He didn't want to strain himself too much but flying in here was better than in the cage. He thought hard about what else he should try and decided to try to fly figure eight between the trees.

It felt challenging to find a clear path in the desired direction repeatedly. Blu decided that if he failed, he would fail safely. He would fly slow and low and pass trees far enough to avoid surprises. He would decelerate and hover down if he didn't see a clear path.

Blu tried to fly figure-eight twice but had to abort both times. He wasn't too disappointed, though. He had already done something he had only dreamed about three weeks ago. Blu decided to finish the exercise. He took off the last time, flew to Linda, and landed on her shoulder.

Linda, Tulio, and Blu were returning from the big room. Tulio felt surprised when Linda took the carrier from him instead of opening the door for him. Next, when he opened the door, Linda set the box on the floor instead of the table beside the cage.

Linda sat down cross-legged and took off her small backpack. She opened the carrier's door for Blu to walk out and opened her bag. Before Tulio could decide what to say, Linda had taken a box out and opened it. "Connect four" was written on the box. He recognized it as a simple abstract strategy game played mainly by children.

At this point, Tulio decided to wait and see what would happen. He saw how Linda set the game up, and Blu made the first move like this wasn't the first time they played it. Eventually, the first game ended in a draw, and they started another.

Soon Jewel said something to Blu, and there was a brief conversation between them. Then Blu gestured for Tulio to help Jewel to get down. He went to the cage door and offered his hand for Jewel to step up. To his surprise, Jewel did it without hesitation. He went closer to Blu and lowered his hand, and Jewel stepped down to the floor.

For a while, Jewel watched the game going on and occasionally she also watched Linda. The game ended in a draw, and while Linda emptied the slots and divided the disks by color, Blu kept talking to Jewel. Linda won the next match and Blu the game after that. The parrot couple continued talking between and during the games.

Tulio had also watched the games. It seemed to him that Blu understood the rules and basic tactics. Linda let Blu make the starting move every time, which gave him a slight advantage. He suspected that Linda was going easy against Blu in other ways, but it was pretty subtle if he was right.

After the third game, when Linda had emptied the slots and divided the disks, Blu grabbed one end of the game grid and moved it between the parrots. Then he looked at Linda with a tilted head.

"Sure, you can play with Jewel too," Linda promised. "You should let her make the first move." Linda moved one pile of discs closer to Jewel, who then made her first move. The parrots then played several games against each other.

"We have captive breeding protocols," Tulio thought while he watched, unsure what he should do. "And then we have - this."

Afterward, Tulio decided against letting Blu and Jewel play in the cage. Because of their droppings, playing on the bottom grid wouldn't be hygienic, and there wasn't any other large flat surface in the enclosure. Therefore he had let them use the room outside the cage to play a couple of times.

Sometimes Tulio did other work during those games. Sometimes he watched them. He noticed that Jewel had improved and won from time to time. It was pretty impressive that a wild bird had learned the rules and basic tactics of the game.

These two were quite extraordinary, Tulio thought. In addition to playing this game, they had communicated abstract and complex things to each other, and Blu could communicate with humans. The last Spix's macaws were also able to remember their past and plan for the future. They also seemed to have better self-control than he would have expected from a parrot. "If parrots can tell what they want, maybe they should have a say in their lives," Tulio thought and continued watching a game he expected to end in a draw.