This bird’s a real taco belle.
A quick-thinking Texas family saved a baby bird they found lying helplessly on the ground by wrapping it up safely in a warm tortilla until wildlife experts arrived.
The Amarillo family discovered what they believed to be an orphaned barn owl on Saturday while barbecuing and, concerned about the baby being cold, the mother asked for a tortilla to be warmed up on the grill that she then used to wrap around the owl.
They called the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for help and when center workers soon arrived they found the owl snug and safe in its burrito blanket.
“Undoubtedly, it was an inventive method to keep the baby warm, and surprisingly, it was effective,” the wildlife center said in a social media post. “The hatchling is currently en route back to the facility. Wildlife Rescue is always filled with lively and unexpected moments.”
The bird, which was later determined to be a Mississippi kite — a gray, falcon-like bird of prey who breed in Texas, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.
The wildlife center told KHOU that the bird — aptly named Taquito — is doing well in its recovery.
The wildlife center is additionally caring for dozens of birds injured or orphaned after Hurricane Beryl devastated southern Texas two weeks ago.
About 100 egrets and dozens of doves from Houston arrived at the Amarillo center on Sunday.