Page 164 - Dark Matter Issue5 Part II

I learned more about fathering from this bird than I ever did from a human. Lily was a

devoted parent who incubated the nest each afternoon, while Fey did the rest of the

sitting. When the two chicks were born Lily took over, feeding both with regurgitated crop

milk. He was tender and sweet, preening the chicks, oblivious to their open mouths and

pitiful peeps until he was finished. Then he would feed them again. Fey seemed

somewhat detached from her offspring, which surprised me. After the chicks were almost

as big as Lily, he suddenly turned on them, forcing both to leave the nest. He used his

warning call repeatedly and pecked at their wings until they flew away. It was time for

them to be on their own. Anticipating an abrupt ending to fathering, I had made

arrangements for the chicks and promptly took them to their new home.

When Fey died suddenly the following year I thought Lily would perish from grief. He

stopped eating and singing. I frantically tried to find another mate for him. I talked to him

constantly but he was so apathetic that I feared I couldn’t reach him.

African collared doves are imported to sit on exotic birds’ nests. After the young are

born, the doves nurture the young like their own. I had a very difficult time finding

another collared dove to keep Lily company because these birds were not raised as

pets; They are imported periodically to parent other birds. This is when I learned that

collared doves are considered “trash birds” by the exotic bird industry. When I presented

Mary Anne to Lily, he immediately started singing and bobbing his head up and down,

his feathers quivering. By some act of grace, or through telepathy, I had chosen the right

bird. Relieved, I finally relaxed my vigil. Lily B rewarded me by bellowing out his song.

Within a day he was responding to my thoughts telepathically and all was well.

One of the most curious habits Lily B has is that he responds to dreams when I am

working with my own, or with others on a professional level. His pattern involves singing

(more like bellowing) out his three calls to me if I interpret a dream correctly. Over the

years I have come to trust his judgment completely, even when it doesn’t make sense to

me.