Phone sex for South American screamers

Staff at a nature reserve in Wearside have been using a mobile phone to encourage two South American birds to mate. The Washington Wetland Centre is home to a pair of crested screamers, which use distinctive calls to mark their territory and attract a mate. However, the centre's birds have shown no interest in mating.

A recording of a screamer's call has now been downloaded from the internet onto a phone and is being played to the birds in a bid to get them in the mood. Warden Owen Joiner said: "They're a prehistoric species and this is reflected in the way that they move - everything happens at an incredibly slow pace.



"Hopefully the recording will spark something in them and then nature will take its course. They are juveniles but at nearly two years old they're old enough to breed. They are starting to react to the recording, which is very exciting, so we'll just have to see what happens."

Crested Screamers are native to the marshlands and lagoons of South America. As part of their mating ritual they preen in synchronisation, show their large feet, and call to each other.