SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Tortillas aren't just delicious. They can also save lives. True story.
AMEE SMITH: There was a barn owl that needed picked up. It was possibly wrapped in a tortilla. You know, of course, you're instantly invested in that.
DETROW: Amee Smith is an animal rehabber with the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Amarillo, Texas. She was dispatched to a home where an abandoned baby bird, a Mississippi kite, was being kept alive by the warmth of a tortilla.
SMITH: Pulled up, and this wonderful family walked out with this swaddled burrito baby kite, and I thought it was the cutest thing ever and just to see this tiny little bird just swaddled like a baby in this flour tortilla.
DETROW: The Adlong family was hosting a barbecue and pool party at their home when Katie Adlong found the bird on the ground shivering.
KATIE ADLONG: I picked it up. It started chirping, and so that's when I was like, oh my gosh. I looked at my friend, and I was like, this is a baby bird. And I did a Google search. I was like, what to do if you find a baby bird? And it said, call your wildlife (inaudible). And so I just Googled wildlife center close near me.
DETROW: Then she called.
ADLONG: So I had to tell her, like, I am holding the baby. And she goes, oh, that's perfectly fine. She was like, did you put it in, like, a warming box? And I was like, no, I wrapped it in a tortilla. The phone call went silent.
DETROW: Why a tortilla? Adlong says the choice came down to pragmatism.
ADLONG: Honestly, it was all I had. You know, we had been in the pool, and so we were wet, and she had been shaking because she was cold. And so my husband and our friends were grilling on the grill, and he had slapped a tortilla down and was like, Katie. So I'll take out a tortilla. And he handed it to me, and I just swaddled Taquito up in it, and I was like, it's a baby blanket.
DETROW: That's right. They named her Taquito. And Adlong took great care of her.
ADLONG: And I did, like, a burrito wrap. I kind of tucked the bottom in and rolled the side. I mean, literally, she looked like a swaddled baby.
DETROW: Amee Smith of the Wildlife Center says the decision was probably life-saving.
SMITH: She was pretty weak at that time, and it was really a life-saving-type situation because of how weak and small and cold she was. You know, we have to maintain that body heat. So it was quick thinking, you know, and potentially saving her life.
DETROW: Taquito is doing pretty well now. She even joined our interview over Zoom.
SMITH: There she is. She is sitting in my hand. She is looking at the video that we're doing, just kind of taking in her surroundings and just kind of resting. She just had a very full meal, so her eyes look a little tired, but just sitting in the palm of my hand, just taking it all in.
DETROW: Smith says it is common for young birds to fall.
SMITH: So as the bird leaves the nest, you're - and learning to fly, being on the ground is part of that juvenile stage.
DETROW: And if you find an abandoned baby bird, Smith has some tips.
SMITH: Now, if there are no parents around that are still taking care of that baby because they're going to continue to help feed it, or if there's a multitude of cats or danger, then you're definitely going to want to, you know, just grab a blanket and wrap that up and, and bring it to your local wildlife rehabber for sure.
DETROW: Or, you know, use a tortilla. That was Amee Smith of the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. We also heard from Katie Adlong and also Taquito. Well...
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