In many ways, this film gains it’s power from it’s simplicity and sincerity.
To paraphrase Mark Bittner:
I never thought I could feel this way about an animal. I mean, humans have all these neurotic thoughts that twist them up and bind them in. But she [a parrot] depended on me and loved me. In some ways, these animals are so much more pure—they don’t play the games humans do.
Mark’s protective and nurturing spirit is paralleled by a “blue head” parrot named Connor. Connor lived alone in a flock of reds. He tolerated all the birds around him but loved none. He would defend and befriend the outcasts. He was dignified and beautiful. He chose freedom over stability. He was eccentric, but full of love.