Prologue
Chi-Chi, the baby mocking bird, was enjoying her new place, thriving and learning how to fly. This morning was the first time I carried her improvised cage to the large, screened, back porch. She already trusted me, and I could hold her in my hand. At times, she would climb on one of my fingers and stay there while I was feeding her. After having her only for a day, she learned how to open her beak as soon as I was close by. With this new soft pleasure of temporarily fostering her until she would be strong enough to fly on her own, I always had food and water close by, ready to care for this demanding new addition to our household pets.
Chi-Chi was brought to us by our nine-year-old cat, Prissy, who found her in the woods next door. We already noticed a couple of mocking birds making a lot of noise, proudly letting everyone know that they were new parents. We were very impressed by their devotion and means of constantly warning cats and other animals to stay away from their chicks, while making frequent rounds with food to the nest. I was only vaguely aware that they were nestled close to the ground, and so their chicks were very vulnerable to all kind of predators, which explained their constant and distraught sounds.
The first time Prissy showed up with the tiny bird in her mouth I panicked, and happy that no harm was done to the little creature, I went further into the brush and gently placed her down, under the frantic watch of her parents. Later, close to the evening hours, as I was looking out the window I saw Prissy outside again, busy and proud, trying to show me her “new baby”. She was hovering over the baby bird as she would have done with her own kitten, which she never had, since she was already “fixed” and the gift of motherhood had been taken away from her before we adopted her.
Prissy’s antics made me think she would continue to bring home the frail chick she had found on the ground. We had to make a quick decision, and Chi-Chi, chirpily called after the sounds she was constantly making, was placed temporarily in a cat carrier we used when bringing the pets to our vet. I thought that some diluted cat food would provide her with the proteins needed for her nourishment, and a dropper would help give her some water. We started feeding her every few hours and this quickly became a pleasant routine. Duke, our sweet little dog, followed us everywhere with great interest, looking lovingly at this little bird with his kind blue eyes.
