Teaching Mama Red Tail to Fly

Teaching Mama Red Tail to Fly

by Rick Zollo

In this excerpt from Rick Zollo’s young adult novel, Runaway Blues, 14-year-old James Eldon worries about the red tail hawk his foster father has been nursing. Will Mama Red Tail fly again?

         ¹ January 1st is a big deal. Not just because it’s the start of the new year, but because Mama Red Tail’s being moved outside, into the flight cage.

         ² “Your wing is healed,” Jake lovingly tells Mama. “Now we’ve got to teach you to fly again.”

         ³ Mama had been staying inside, living in a barrel of shredded newspapers. Her wing had been wrapped by Jake and his veterinarian friend, with a rod in it to keep it straight. Five weeks later, they’ve unwrapped the wing.

         ⁴ Jake carries the barrel outside, then gently takes Mama from the barrel. It’s a sunny day, not too cold. A whole bunch of us have come over to watch.

         ⁵ The flight cage is sixty feet long, fifteen feet wide, and about twelve feet high. Jake has it surrounded with plastic mesh, so we can stand outside and watch what Mama does.

         ⁶ “Don’t get too excited,” Jake says. “I still might have to put her down.” Jake’s not interested in having birds as pets. He sees what he does as working for Nature, for the part of Nature that needs to be wild.

         ⁷ Jake puts Mama on a perch. She sits there for a minute or so, moves her wings, and even skitters about a bit.

         ⁸ Then Jake puts a dead rat on the ground, on the far side of the cage.

         ⁹ Mama hasn’t been fed in two days. She sees that rat, jerks her wings two times to stretch them out, and then neat as can be, jumps off the perch and flies to her food.

         ¹⁰ We’re so happy we all clap and hug.

Reading Buckle Down 8^th, 2^nd Edition, 1995, p. 56.

1.    Which of the following resources would be used to research the Mama Red Tail?

A  science magazine

B almanac

C  encyclopedia

D atlas

2.    Why does Jake surround the cage with plastic mesh?

F  to make the cage longer, wider, and taller

G to keep the hawk’s wing straight and help it heal

H to keep the hawk from getting too cold in the wind

J so the people can see in, but the hawk can’t get out

3.    Why did Jake and the veterinarian wrapped the bird’s wing with a rod?

A  to stretch it out

B  to keep it straight

C  to make it longer

D  to weight it down

4.    Which word best replaces veterinarian in paragraph #3?

F pediatrician

G animal physician

H psychiatrist

J podiatrist

5.      Which words have a positive connotation for Mother?

A  Mom

B Old Lady

C  Mama

D Mommy

6.    If a child is to a pediatrician, then a bird is to a-

A  podiatrist

B  pharmacist

C  veterinarian

D  dentist