Saratoga News

Cover Story

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Fala stands on Trudy Burney's gloved hand with no fear of her human caretaker. Fala, admiring herself in the mirror, can no longer be released into the wild because of her color and her comfort level around humans.

Bird Caw-l

Fala gives Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley something to crow about

By Michele Tjin

If pandas are the rock-star celebrities of the animal world, where throngs will track and coo at their every move, crows would be more like street corner hustlers who are best left alone.

"Crows tend to get a bad rep," said Janet Alexander Thompson, director of operations at the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley. "They're noisier than other birds, and they stay in large groups. People complain about them."

But the center is trying to erase how the public thinks about this misunderstood lot, a species that is associated with mystery, darkness, death and bad fortune. The San Jose center, which rehabilitates wild animals, is hoping Fala, an albino crow recuperating in Saratoga, can help change the public image of the species.

Trudi Burney is the Saratoga resident who is taking care of Fala in her home office, and she and the rest of the staff at the center have high hopes for the bird. Fala will go out with handlers like Burney to classroom presentations as they explain the danger of taking in a wild animal and trying to domesticate it.

"What a wonderful animal we have to join our team and help us," said Burney, the center's education director. "With a live animal, you can make more of an impact."

Fala's story has a very Silicon Valley beginning--a posting on Craig's List. Last July, a member of the public alerted the center that there was a white crow up for sale on the website. Alexander Thompson answered the ad and picked up the bird, without identifying who she was for fear the family would give the bird to someone else. Fala, whose name is a Choctaw Indian word for crow, had been housed in a bathroom.

"This is a case of somebody trying to make a wild animal a pet," Alexander Thompson said. "When he realized it would be noisy and dirty, he thought he better sell it for a few dollars."

Fala has dusty white feathers, white legs and a white beak. She is not completely albino; her eyes are blue, which is common in young crows, Burney said.

"Because of her lack of color, we think she was kicked out of the flock as a fledgling," she said.

Employees at the wildlife center knew quickly this wild bird was different than most. Fala's albinism prevents her release back into nature. The bird would be prone to blindness and skin cancer because of her lack of pigmentation.

Additionally, Fala has being "imprinted," which means she is at ease with humans. In fact, she's too comfortable. Fala has no fear of Burney and effortlessly steps up to her gloved hand when Burney asks her to come to her. The bird has been robbed of its life as a wild animal, her caretaker said.

"The story she tells is don't raise wildlife as pets," she said.

Just recently, the center had been looking for the perfect animal to take to classrooms to teach children and adults how to coexist with wild fauna. When Fala came along, employees of Wildlife Center weren't sure if they were going to keep her. After all, it can be costly to take care of a bird that can live for 20 years. Fala will need two shaded aviaries--one at the center and one in Burney's Saratoga back yard--as well as a special diet and veterinary care. The center is looking for grants and funding to cover the estimated $30,000 necessary for her upkeep.

Despite initial qualms, the organization has received OKs from state and federal regulatory agencies to keep the crow, and employees knew that they had the right candidate to be their first wildlife ambassador.

"In general, wild animals avoid human contact," Burney said. "Fala's lack of fear was the determining aspect in adding her to our program."

However, Burney said she will need to walk a fine line between getting the crow to trust her and not treating it like an animal member of the family. For example, Burney will never rub its head nor will she ever allow the bird to interact with the other animals in the house, namely a dog, two parrots, two cats and various finches in the back yard.

"She's still a wild bird. She'll never do bird tricks," Burney said.

Fala's albinism has caused more than a lack of color in the bird. The tail feathers have broken because of a deficiency in melanin. The genetic disorder affects the strength of feathers, and as a result the crow doesn't fly. But Fala's human friends are pleased at the progress she's shown. Staff members from the center have taught the bird to come to them on command. The next step in the training is to get Fala to get used to jessing, in which they will put a short leather strap around her legs. The anklets will have a leash attached so handlers will be able to control the bird when they make their presentations.

To Burney, the reputation of crows as pests and harbingers of death is underserved. To keep her avian pal stimulated, she hides food in a box so that Fala has to look for it. Crows in nature can fashion tools and live in groups similar to human families, she said.

"They're bright. They're smarter than pigs, primates and dogs," Burney said.

For those at the wildlife center, the albino crow is a rarity. They've seen partially albino squirrels and possums over the years, but nothing can compare to Fala. Even for Alexander Thompson, the director who's been working with wildlife rescue for 17 years, this is a first.

She and her colleagues have eagerly embraced the bird into their midst and say Fala will do much to advance the center's mission. This newest star will demonstrate that humans and wildlife can live side by side, that crows are worthwhile animals, and that differences are worth it and nothing to be afraid of.

"We want to get her trained for these education seminars," Alexander Thompson said. "We're planning to build her a proper enclosure, and we'll have great digs for her. We're hoping that she'll work out very well."

For more information on the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley, visit www.wcsv.org.