Birds of a Feather

"Birds of a Feather" by Robert Silverberg is a science fiction story set in a future where humans interact with aliens, circling around J. F. Corrigan who runs a zoo-like place called the Corrigan Institute of Morphological Science, filled with extraterrestrial creatures. Themes of taking advantage of others, lying, and how humans and aliens treat each other are shown as Corrigan looks for new aliens to show off at his institute. He journeys to a planet to find weird and wonderful aliens, like a Terraphile that looks like a globe, and a Kallerian angry about something that happened to his family. An Earthman named Ildwar Gorb says he's from another planet far away, and all the mixed-up events lead to funny moments and stressful situations, like police showing up and deals being made. Corrigan has to handle con artists and tricksters, putting his business skills and morals to the test.