Maultsaid, D. (2020, Oct.). Pajaritas. Riddle Fence, #37, Fall, 2020
By Deirdre Maultsaid
I invite you to admire the crimson-tailed Saraya for it is the most lesbiana of all the birds. We have plenty to admire here. Female pairs will live together in nests of moss, spit, and tinsel. They feed each other blackberries. Or, to tease: holly berries. If you wait quietly, you can see them perch close together on a thin branch and sing five low throaty notes back and forth. Observe how they allow themselves to hang precariously by one small claw, so that they might be pulled upright by the strong beak of their mate, in their dance of risk and rescue. See how their tawny frill becomes tousled as they tremble. What creatures. They deserve their name. They have even been known to pivot back to back and use their profuse crimson tail feathers to caress the underbelly of the other. (But, that is not in the guidebooks.)
The End