Beethoven and His Buddy at El Paraíso

From the wooden aviary beside the main house of the El Paraíso estate, two yellow-crowned parrots watched the day unfold with that sovereign calm that Amazona ochrocephala carry when they know they are well. Omar passed by with his camera and stole a few shots: brilliant green plumage, red flashes across the wings, the yellow crown that gives the species its name. Hanging from their necks, tags 12 and 15 identified them beyond any doubt. 15 is Beethoven. 12 is, in Alejandro's words, "a friend of his" — and that is enough. Omar sent the images because Alejandro always wants to know how they are doing, and today's answer was reassuring: they look good. Sometimes the field brings no dramas, no surprises — only the quiet confirmation that two birds are still there, whole and well, sharing an aviary under the sun of El Paraíso.