In The Parrot’s Eye

Scarlet perched on the widest branch of the tree overlooking Barron Falls. She always had her best friend Ruana by her side, no matter the time of day, season, or circumstances. They were like conjoined twins from birth on the exact same day, May 5, fifteen years ago. Although they had distinct parents, they were both macaws: Scarlet – in hues of red, blue, and yellow; Ruana – in shades of blue and gold. Both parrot girlfriends worshipped the sight of their beloved rugged Barron Gorge National Park in northeast Australia as their native village, Kuranda, was positioned here between tropical rainforest, mountains, and the Barron River.

‘So, what are they up to, Scarlet?’

‘Water rafting. It’s called Half of the day water rafting from Cairns or Port Douglas…’

‘What does that mean?’

‘Well, my dear Ruana, they first board a boat with a guide who can manoeuvre through the tricky river passages at high speed, glancing at the hilly ravine and ascending cliffs…’

‘That’s crazy!’

‘I completely agree. Apparently, they don’t require any skills for this activity. They just take one expert and bang! They are in our forest screaming with excitement and adrenaline bursting through the canopy of trees.

‘I don’t understand why they even come here, Scarlet? Do they know how to live among trees? Do they need trees to survive?’

‘All I can say is that I’ve heard they use trees as various materials to make their products, like paper, furniture, and even oil, although I’m not entirely sure why and why in such mass production as if they multiplied their own lives. A single member of the human species will not live more than a hundred years; it can hardly reach that age in the modern era. So, I don’t quite understand why they are building more of the world if they are going to die anyway. What is going to happen then to all the pieces of wood from their daily lives?’

‘I think they will pass it on to their descendants. You know they are intelligent, right? People can do more than we, birds and other animals living in the forest… They can read, write, create thoughts…’

‘Are you saying, my dear Ruana, that I cannot evoke thoughts?’

‘No, I would only dare to say that they seem to be the ones who discovered and described us, so it looks like they know more about us than we do about them, yet that doesn't give them the right to ravage and rend our home…

‘Precisely. They’re not doing anything good here, they only use us for their god knows purpose. Galah, a pink and grey cockatoo, recently complained to me about the roar of the railroad outside his house. Apparently, it is called a sightseeing train and it aims to embed tourists in our world… So does the Skyrail cable car that runs over our rainforest.’

‘But why? Don’t they realise they are intruders in our world? We were the first here, not them. For instance, I am not in the habit of roaming around their homes. Even that would be impossible considering that they tend to close their homes, despite being surrounded on all sides by walls, windows, and roofs anyway.

‘You know that three macaw species are already extinct? Research suggests that some parrot species may change identity when imported to different places…’

‘Really? This is new! I didn’t know about it…’

‘I heard Matthew from the Kuranda Wildlife Clinic & Recovery talking to someone the other day…’

‘I don’t want this to happen to us. I wouldn’t know what to do without you, Scarlet. You are my best friend. I don’t want any other friends, not even of the same species as mine.’

‘Neither am I. I’d rather die than…’ Scarlet began to cry as if she were a little girl again.

‘Please don’t say that and don’t cry. We are strong. Girl power, remember?!’

‘Yes, thanks!’ Scarlet wiped her tears with the tip of her toe.

‘We just need air and space to live. If people take our home space for their purposes when they already have their own living environment, something is wrong. We need to think about the fastest solution to this problem. We cannot continue on these grounds. Can we ask our friends at Kuranda Wildlife Clinic & Recovery? Are they able to help us on this occasion? I know that they are able to retrieve our wild babies if they fall out of the nest…’

‘It’s good that we can fly. This gives us an advantage over the entire human race.’

‘Yes, it is true, my dear!’

After that, the two girls decided to move to the vicinity of Rainbow Creek, where more parrots and birds had their perfect place to gather, chat, and forage.

During the flight, they tried to imagine the world without their natural habitat, but they could not, because it had existed since the dawn of time, passed down from generation to generation. They constantly asked their parents how old the rainforest was, yet they could not explain because it was formed long before the Earth was inhabited by humans. The natural course of action would then require that birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and other primates that occur here and make their first life, be privileged to live in this area. Unfortunately, the order of things seemed to be the opposite, as if something had gone wrong in appreciating nature and not seeing it as a condition for human survival. If the rainforest completely disappears or its territory is significantly reduced, it will endanger the human population, destroying energy and resources that only the forest can provide; if the human population declines, the rainforest will continue to grow on its own terms. Nevertheless, if the human race continues to impose its power on nature, the consequences can lead to irreversible changes, resulting in not only interfering with nature's ecosystems, but also reducing the oasis of pleasure for people, such as raft rides, waterhole swimming, or scenic railway rides. It can all go away in an instant, disregarding the first inhabitants of Earth and the role they play in preserving the world, which is much more favourable to the planet. However, if we collaborate on a global project to protect endangered species and serve as a friendly hub for all inhabitants of the rainforest where they can feel at ease in their homes, we can go much further.

Every time the two girls flew through the Barron Gorge National Park, they felt a growing sense of pride mixed with guilt, as though it was their fault that their environment is in a state of constant destruction, fuelled by strangers in the form of humans. As if all this was the fault of animals who tried to live in their homes with the destructive power of humans. It definitely didn't sound like the right thing to leave it at that and move on. The new rules had to be implemented immediately for them to become effective in the survival of both species, the human population and the endangered animal world.

By the time they reached the creek, egrets were on fire on that very subject. They talked about inhumane waterhole swimming at Rainbow Creek. It happened that the human population disrupted the natural circadian rhythm of pied egrets, cattle egrets, white-faced herons, and cassowaries.

‘When people are out, I can’t catch any insects, let alone fish, frogs, or crabs… This is ridiculous!’ The group’s oldest representative, Paul, complained. There were thousands of their species gathered near the creek.

‘Ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous!’ His voice echoed in the air. It was a yellow-tailed black cockatoo, Lawrence, whose mimic abilities were well-known to other birds, but none of them paid any attention to it. The black swans merely nodded their long necks in a gesture of absolute sympathy.

Rainbow lorikeet Cassandra preened herself with discontent, remaining restrained. The musk lorikeet Max only looked bewildered as he stared with his black and red eyes at the void, trying to avoid the furious-looking herons. It was easy for him to hide among leaves clad in the same bright green feather colour flashing red on his forehead. From this position, it was also convenient to suck nectar from spider flowers as they looked identical to Max, who could stealthily listen to the conversation at the same time. Cloncurry parrot Linda enjoyed bathing nearby in the drops of water dripping off the trees, as if the ongoing dispute was not her business, although she left anxious glances at the egrets. Accompanying her chattering lory Augustine ruffled his vivid red feathers, confirming his threatened position. He was a vulnerable species as well, at risk of being trapped in the cage-bird trade, today, however, he decided to stay silent and not confer too much about it. Alexandrine parakeet Amanda peered out of a hollow in the tree trunk her green head with a red beak adorned with yellow tips. After many travels in her life, she has enjoyed the tranquillity of the Australian rainforest in Kuranda. Although she has not followed other species these days, as her ability to concentrate and comprehend clearly has declined with age, she usually waited cautiously for her parrot family to debate a topic that was the highest priority among all animals inhabiting Barron Gorge National Park.

Sun conure Rose contorted her golden-yellow face flushed orange, deeply disturbed as she was a parrot listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). When Scarlet and Ruana approached her perched on a tree hidden from the creek, she opened her beak.

‘We discuss it in our own parrot company. Egrets seem to like to talk and keep forgetting that when they make a fuss, they create more shocks in this already troubled world.’

Scarlet and Ruana showed appreciation to the older and more experienced parrot. She was like a resourceful and more competent aunt to them, always shining not only with feathers, but also with a brilliant mind. Although she was not of a large size, she played an important role in the sisterhood of parrots.

When the herons were done, there was nothing else to converse, so both parrot girlfriends said goodbye to their aunt and flew away. On the way back, they decided to feed. As they searched for a suitable fruit tree to settle on, they noticed the Indian ringneck parrot Rudy, whose feathers shone brightly like the sun at its zenith. They greeted him warmly, but because he was always very shy, he immediately hid in the bush looking for a comfortable shelter. Whilst feeding on nuts, the sisters also acknowledged Abi, the Chinese golden pheasant. He seemed calm because, according to the IUCN, he was the least concern, although that didn’t mean he shouldn’t be protected like other species. The human population probably did not find him as attractive as parrots, as in general pheasants were quite popular domestic birds in many cultures.

– THE END –

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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The majority of macaws are now endangered in the wild and a few are extinct. The Spix's macaw is now probably extinct in the wild. The glaucous macaw is also probably extinct, with only two reliable records of sightings in the 20th century. The greatest problems threatening the macaw population are the rapid rate of deforestation and illegal trapping for the bird trade.

International trade of all macaw species is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). Some species of macaws —the scarlet macaw (Ara macao) as an example – are listed in the CITES Appendix I and may not be lawfully traded for commercial purposes. Other species, such as the red-shouldered macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis), are listed in Appendix II and may legally be traded commercially provided that certain controls are in place, including a non-detriment finding, establishment of an export quota, and issuing of export permits.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaw [accessed 04/11/2021, 02:13]

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