Page 166 - Dark Matter Issue5 Part II

soups and pasta, all the while keeping one amber eye fastened on me. He is often next

to a hot burner and knows enough not to touch it. This penchant for kitchens is how I

discovered when Lily B was just a few months old that he loves hard-boiled eggs and

cheese. I was particularly curious about these high-protein foods because doves are

supposed to be seed eating birds. Yet many other birds often feed their young insects or

worms, at least for a time. I began to give Lily chopped egg every morning, a habit we

continue to this day. He is very particular about cheese, preferring Brie or Havarti, and

every afternoon he flies down to the kitchen counter for his treats. Lily is a very old bird

by Collared dove standards, having lived more than twice as long as most of his kind (10

to 12 years), and I often speculate that these protein sources have helped keep him

healthy.

The loss of Mary Anne seemed to traumatize Lily less than losing Fey. Mary Anne

declined slowly over a period of weeks and I sensed that both Lily and I knew we were

going to lose her. His behavior towards her shifted. They no longer roosted next to each

other and he began flying around without her. Although it was December, the morning

she died at least a hundred mourning doves appeared out of nowhere and clustered in

one tree outside his favorite window singing their very plaintive song. They were

witnessing Lily’s loss. Later that morning, after the doves dispersed, I played the Mozart

requiem, sitting just below my silent bird who was perched in his basket. We grieved her

loss together, and he watched me cremate her body in the woodstove.

The next day I discovered Lucia on the internet. I had a clear thought: This was the right

bird. Immediately I printed out a picture of her and put it in one of his favorite spots so he

could see her. After I got the news that she was coming to us, I started calling her by

name and Lily began to coo excitedly. When she arrived it was love at first sight and the

two had the most wonderful time chasing each other through our very happy house!

That night they slept huddled close to one another.

Lily and Lucia seemed extremely bonded. He taught her how to avoid hitting the mirrors

and windows, something he had never done with his other mates. Even their

conversation seemed more intimate, with the soft cooing between them almost

continuous. If he flew to one basket she followed him. Their favorite spot was swinging in