Something to Scream About

By
Athena Wilson
– January 27, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Birds, Uncategorized

A sharp, keratinous spur on each wing helps screamers protect themselves by wing slapping and striking with these spurs. Click on images to enlarge.

What are those large, gray birds in the San Diego Zoo‘s Caribbean flamingo exhibit?  They look like turkeys or “raptors on stilts,” as I like to call them.  Interestingly, they are classified into the same scientific order as waterfowl (ducks) but are in their own unique family. There are three different species of screamers, all of which reside in South America.  We are home to a pair of crested screamers Chauna torquata, also known as southern screamers.  They can be heard from far away, and if you are lucky enough to hear them vocalize, you will quickly learn how they got their name. Screamers are excellent swimmers, even though they barely have any webbing on their feet. They can also be very aggressive, and if you have ever seen me in the exhibit speaking loudly at them, telling them to “back-up,” it is not because I am trying to be mean; my intention is to establish my dominance.

Our screamer pair is unique because they have a very romantic story (in my opinion, at least).  First, let me give you a little history about our male. He is approximately 30 years old now! He came to us when he was about a year old in February 1982. He was paired up with a female and together they parented a total of 24 chicks over a span of 8 years from 1988 to 1996. Sadly, his original mate passed away in 1997. In the wild, these birds would live to be anywhere from 10 to 15 years old but can live to be up to 35 years old in zoos.

Will our screamers become parents again?

The male was by himself until one beautiful day in 2008, when we received a young female from the Louisville Zoo. She was a sight to see!  Barely over a year old when she arrived, she still had some reminiscent juvenile plumage but nevertheless was larger and more robust than the male. They were introduced in adjacent pens up at the Zoo’s hospital, and it was love at first sight. They would often be seen standing near each other (still separated by fencing), bill-clapping  to each other, which in screamer language can be interpreted as “I like you.”  This behavior can also be observed on exhibit, and following the bill clapping you can see them preening each other.

As soon as it was apparent that they would get along if put in the same enclosure, they were brought to the Caribbean flamingo lagoon on the Zoo’s front plaza and have been inseparable ever since. The female was not yet reproductively mature, so we did not anticipate breeding for quite some time.  Early last year was the first time we observed copulation; in the bird world, that is the term we use for breeding.  Much excitement followed as the female laid her first egg!  But with the male being at the age he was, we wondered if the eggs could even be fertile.  Their first clutch consisted of two eggs that were laid seven days apart.  Typically, a clutch contains two to six eggs, with an egg being laid every two days.  Both eggs proved to be infertile, so they were pulled from the nest to allow the pair to try again. Shortly after, the female laid five eggs perfectly, each one laid two days after the previous egg.  How exciting! Two of the five eggs hatched, and the female behaved like a seasoned parent with her experienced mate showing her the ropes. They successfully parent-reared one of the two chicks (the other passed away at only two weeks of age due to health complications), and that male will be transferred to another institution soon!

Currently you can observe the crested screamer pair on their nest for their second breeding season together. Six eggs were laid, but only three remain, as the other three were candled and proven infertile or not viable.  The remaining three eggs are due anytime now up until February 14! The pair can be easily viewed from the bridge of the flamingo exhibit, where one of them will be sitting tightly atop a clump of Liriopes at the water’s edge.  If you get the chance to stop by, we hope that all three eggs will hatch, and we can enjoy seeing some of the cutest chicks in the bird world.  A screamer chick looks like a miniature Big Bird from “Sesame Street” with bright yellow down and thick, swollen orange legs. What a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for their keepers and the Bird Department!

Athena Wilson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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