Adopt A Bird spotlight: Sara and Gomez

Sara's Story

Sara was hatched and reared by her parents at the Woodland Park Zoological Gardens in Seattle. She arrived at the World Bird Sanctuary on June 10, 1993. After a settling in period, the staff at our Education Training Center began training Sara to participate in our educational programs.

One of the highlights of the Seriema performance is a demonstration of how this species hunts in the wild by snatching up their prey and slamming it on the ground to stun and kill it. Lizards and snakes are a favorite food. This behavior has earned them a favorable status among the indigenous people of their native South America.

In 2004 Sara was paired with Gomez in the hope that they would be compatible. After some initial bickering, they settled in and have since produced four eggs in two years. The photo above shows them performing the yelping call for which these birds are famous. It sounds like a cross between a dog yelping and a turkey gobbling and can be heard over a mile away Sara is the bird on the log.

Gomez's Story

Gomez was hatched and reared at the Woodland Park Zoological Gardens in Seattle in 1991. He arrived at the World Bird Sanctuary in 1992 and began his training to participate in educational programs. Like Sara, his specialty was to demonstrate how his species hunts in the wild by catching prey and slamming it against the ground to kill it. According to the director of our training department, he was our best and most reliable "slammer."

In 2004 he was retired from performing and paired with Sara in our breeding program. However, as you can see from the photo above, he has not forgotten how to "slam." He is pictured with a tree frog that he found and caught in his enclosure, and of which he was very proud. The morning this photo was taken, he was showing his prize off to anyone who would pay attention!

To adopt Sara or Gomez, simply click our donation button, make a donation of $100, and specify in your payment notes: Adopt-a-bird: SARA or enter GOMEZ. If you'd like to adopt the pair, make your donation for $175 and specify: SARA AND GOMEZ. Also include your name, phone number, and mailing address so that we can send you your adoption materials!

Every donation helps to feed, house, and provide medical care for the bird of your choice! Adopt-A-Bird Parents Receive:

*A personal visit with the bird you adopt!!!!! Call 636-861-3225 to set up a time
for your personal visit.
* Certificate of Adoption
* Color photo of the bird you've adopted
* Sponsorship Card
* One year's subscription to Mews News (our quarterly newsletter)
* Life History and Natural History of the bird
* 10% Discount off WBS merchandise
* Invitation to Sponsors-only events like Camera Day
* Discounts on WBS Special Events
* WBS Decal

To each their own...at least when it comes to personal hygiene!

I thought I'd continue with the seriema theme this week and post a video of Lee taking a dust bath in her shavings. Lee, like all red legged seriemas, likes to take a nice dust bath (who doesn't?). We normally give her a sandbox for this purpose, but on cleaning day she decided to experiment a little. This doesn't really help with the sweeping, nor is it as effective as sand, but we were all very impressed.

Seriema supermodels!

Today's post is a natural history of the Red Legged Seriema, featuring Sara and Gomez.

red-legged seriema
Cariama cristata

Description tall, long-legged birds; loose plumage, especially on the neck and underparts; mainly gray, with shades of brown, except the abdomen, which is white; wing and tail feathers are banded black and white; blue skin surrounding the eye; crest comprised of tufts of permanently raised slightly stiff feathers at the base of the bill which can reach 4 inches in length; bill and legs both red; raptor-like hooked beak; feet have three short, very sharp front toes, and a raised smaller hind toe

Sex: both sexes look alike, with the male slightly larger than females

Age: 10-20 years in captivity Length: (Height) 35-36”

Weight: 5-7 lbs.

Habitat: lightly wooded to open savanna areas; known to hunt recently burned areas where insects and small vertebrates are easily found; recently cleared forest areas

Status: not threatened although traditional habitat is changing due to human interference; seem to have adapted to these changes; breed fairly well in captivity

Range: South America from central and eastern Brazil through eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and central Argentina

Behavior: mostly ground dwelling; can run upwards of 43 mph; fly only when necessary to evade predators or to reach a perch; most often seen alone or in pairs; groups of three or more birds most likely parents and offspring; diurnal species; monogamous; courtship involves male showing off flight feathers by stretching them to one side, strutting with head down and crest raised; both sexes build nest of twigs and branches lined with mud and leaves; two white, slightly spotted eggs are laid and incubated by both sexes for 27-28 days; chicks covered in long light brown feathers and are fed by both parents; chicks leave the nest and follow parents at 12-15 days; chicks fledge at one month;

Diet: insects, small rodents, lizards, frogs, birds, and snakes, as well as seeds, fruits and cultivated crops such as corn, beans, and grains

Vocalization: very loud, yelping call, which can be heard from over a mile away

√ No wild caught red-legged seriemas have been imported since 1981

√ seriemas like to sunbathe, lying on their sides, sometimes appearing to be dead

Sara and Gomez get weighed...

It was bi-monthly weigh day at the Education Training Center and I decided to take advantage and shoot some video. As you can see from the video, hopping up on the scale for a snack is no problem. We weigh them before they are fed to make the snack more appealing, though sometimes they forgo the scale and steal from the people.

This is Sara and Gomez, a pair of red legged seriemas. These mostly terrestrial birds stand about 30 inches long, and are named for their long reddish legs. Seriemas eat small reptiles and mammals, including snakes. They are native to eastern South America. They fly very little but perch high on termite mounds to sing and look for food. Their loud song can be heard from miles away! They are speedy runners, and have recorded running as fast as 70 km/hr.