Paris is not known as a tropical destination. And Paris in the dead of winter is not know for bursts of color. So when I caught a glimpse of vibrant green zooming past my window a few weeks ago, I took note. When the flash of peridot transformed into a parrot, I actually squealed.
To be honest, anything that flies past my window in this time of COVID confinements (lockdowns) catches my eye and might make me squeal. I crave distraction and amusement.
But parrots in Paris. I have since become obsessed. We’re talking parrots. In Paris. In the winter. Insane. And a perfect addition to the bizarreness of this era in our lives, wouldn’t you say?
Delightful Tropical Neighbors
A flock of ten or twelve parrots have decided to make the park behind my building their new home. It may be just the persimmon trees that attracted them. Or the fact that murmuration of starlings have also become enamoured with the neighborhood. But I like to think it’s because they know how desperately the humans behind their double-paned windows need their company.
I’ve tried to provide the parrots with seeds, concerned about their lack of preparedness for this harsh climate. Malheureusement (unfortunately), the pigeons always get to the window first. I have stopped my practice of generosity as a result. But that does not prevent me from staring keenly out the window, desperate for the chic birds’ random visits.
I frequently stop in mid-sentence during conference calls or conversations with my boyfriend to exclaim my delight when they fly into sight. Parrots in Paris are so incongruous, and this is the first of my five winters here that they have come. They announce their arrival with clarion squawks that stand out against the more melodious chirps of their winged cousins.
There is such augmented need for taking note of life’s details this year. Beauty and variation can seem in short supply when days are marked by a permission slip to walk out the door or an eye on the clock to get back in. Flight and hope connect in metaphor since the dawn of time. Add a bit of color and mystery, and suddenly a bird becomes the perfect harbinger of a brighter future.
These parrots are a reminder. The world is full of magic. Tropical warmth is just a few cycles of the moon away. Anything is possible.