Xander the Xenophobic Xenops

Xander lived in a little rainy forest in Costa Rica, not too far from where Quincy the Querulous Quetzal met his maker. It’s probably a good thing Xander and Quincy never came across each other in their daily wanderings, because Xander didn’t like creatures who were different in any way from his own little flock.

Most xenops are xenophiles–outgoing and friendly, happy to get together with the quetzals and the macaws. They readily hung about with toucans and thrushes.

Not Xander. He disliked the green macaws more than most, thought the thrushes were too uppity, being the national bird and all, and that quetzals were ridiculous looking with their silly plumes and crimson chests.

No one could talk Xander out of his prejudice, and trying only made Xander more determined to make his feelings known. His constant annoyed zeet, zeet, zeet began to get on everyone’s nerves.

The day finally came when all the birds decided to fight back. It began with a fly-in. Thousands of birds of all varieties cornered Xander in a tree as he bopped about hunting for bugs and yummy things that hid under the bark. The mob first began to zeet, zeet, zeet at Xander, then advanced on him until he, horrified and repelled, took off. Being a pretty nice mob as mobs go, they let Xander get away.

But one green macaw squawked after him. “Don’t come back until you learn how to get along with the rest of us.”

Xander glanced back in fear and horror. His response (and indeed most of his language) was x-rated so I have not included it here.

After escaping, he decided he’d search for a place where everyone looked and acted just like him. Xander is still searching.

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