PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – How do you get good at something you have never done before? Practice, of course.

The same goes for birds.

KDKA is helping the National Aviary prepare some of its feathered friends for upcoming appearances on national television.

“This is her first time in a studio. She’s never been off-site before so this is a new thing for her. But, we do use her for education classes. So, if you are a kid coming in for a field trip you may get to meet Beatrice,” Cathy Schlott said.

The National Aviary in Pittsburgh asked KDKA to use our studios for practice for their birds, including a green aracari named Beatrice.

“She’s a great bird. She does very consistent behaviors at the Aviary and because she is so consistent, that is why we decided to bring her out and get her more exposure and try it,” Schlott said.

The birds will appear on three different programs on three different days, including “Late Night with David Letterman.”

The bird that will be on with Letterman is a black vulture named Sarabi.

“They are scavengers and vultures are so misunderstood, but they are very, very important to the eco-system because they clean up our messes. They eat all that dead stuff lying around. So, a world without vultures would not be a world we would want to live in,” Schlott said.

Schlott gave Rick Dayton a chance to be Letterman for a day – or at least his stand-in during training.

For bird with a three-to-four foot wingspan, she weighs just five pounds, but she’s not exactly gentle when she lands.

However, she is perfect for the unpredictable world of late night television.

“She will follow you anywhere. She is what you call ‘bomb-proof.’ You can take here everywhere and she is going to do well. She is going to perform,” Schlott said.

Hopefully, this is a case of where practice makes perfect.

RELATED LINKS

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National Aviary