Moving-picture show this: you're taking a walk through your neighborhood, your backyard, or a local nature trail, and you find a baby songbird lying on the ground. The bird doesn't look ill or injured, it's only…on the ground. It doesn't fly away when yous arroyo it, and you get a singled-out impression that it tin't fly. Peradventure it's making a lot of noise, or perhaps it's standing perfectly all the same and trying to hibernate.

You want to assist it, but what should yous exercise?

nest

During the spring and summertime months, when people tend to spend a lot of fourth dimension outdoors and come into contact with wild animals, it's non uncommon to find babe birds that, for ane reason or some other, are not in their nest. And far also oft, well-meaning humans react incorrectly to the situation; they either "adopt" a bird that doesn't need to be adopted and mitt-reared, or they "rescue" a baby bird that was actually just fine where it was.

And then, what should yous practice if you lot discover an uninjured baby songbird on the ground? The respond depends upon the bird'south age and stage of evolution:

Hatchlings

As their proper noun implies, hatchlings are baby birds who accept only very recently hatched out of their eggs. For many songbirds, this means that they're, at near, only a few days former. Baby birds at this stage of life are completely dependent on their parent(southward) for nutrient and intendance. They also similar to huddle with their siblings for warmth.

Hatchlings are by and large naked, with only a few wispy or featherlike feathers on their blank pare. Their eyes are airtight, as well, and the bird'due south beak may seem abnormally large for its caput. Beauty is in the center of the beholder, but let'due south be honest: hatchlings are unremarkably pretty alien-looking and non incredibly cute!

Finding a hatchling on the ground or out of its nest is cause for concern, as chicks that age can't do much of anything—they're like human being infants. In this situation, the all-time thing to do is to look effectually and see if you can spot the nest nearby. If you can observe it, gently pick up the baby bird, place it back into the nest with its siblings, and walk abroad (lest you attract predators to the nest or requite an overly-protective mama bird the wrong thought).

If yous can't detect the nest or the nest has been destroyed, you tin try putting the hatchling in a loosely woven wicker handbasket (or plastic hanging basket with drainage holes) that you've lined with dry grass and leaves, and hang it from a nearby tree branch at least six feet off the footing. The baby bird'southward cries should alert its parent(south) to its new location.

Nestlings

Nestlings are older babe birds who all the same aren't quite ready to leave the nest. They're a teeny fleck more than capable of taking care of themselves than hatchlings, but they're still very dependent on parental care if they're going to survive. Nestlings are ordinarily betwixt three and 13 days old.

Birds who take reached the nestling phase of development often have open eyes and more of their actual feathers instead of but fluffy downward. The feathers, withal, may appear to exist covered in some kind of sheathing or coating; this only means that their feathers are newly sprouted and oasis't been properly groomed and "fluffed" only even so. Again, at this age, the chicks may be a bit strange-looking compared to older birds!

Equally with hatchlings, if you observe a seemingly healthy nestling on the basis, the all-time thing that you tin can do for it is to put it back in the nest with its siblings. If that's not an selection, create a make-shift nest for information technology and hope for the all-time.

Fledglings

At this stage of life, baby birds may finally be ready to leave the nest and strike out on their own. And that'southward a expert thing, because after two weeks of "sharing a room" with their siblings, the nursery may be getting way likewise crowded for comfort!

Fledglings typically have nigh of their adult feathers, although those might not exist fully developed; their tails and wings sometimes look a fleck "chubby" and their plumage can be dull in color. Fledglings may not be able to fly just nonetheless, but they can hop, palpitate, and walk with lilliputian problem. They'll often leave the nest to practice flying and foraging for food, but they typically stay shut to the nest and their families for at least a few days. Parents of fledglings will unremarkably keep to keep an centre on their babies and will arbitrate if they think something is threatening a chick's safety.

This is the point where our communication changes: if yous notice a fledgling bird on the ground, leave information technology alone! Unless the fledgling is in some kind of immediate danger from homo activity or a predator, then information technology'll virtually certainly be fine where it is. Existence on the ground is totally normal for fledglings; it's how they larn to take intendance of themselves and interact with the world around them. If you try to put a fledgling back in its nest, and then chances are, the (now annoyed and/or stressed out) bird volition probably just hop back out again. And if you decide that yous're going to "rescue" the bird and remove it from its natural surround, you'll probably exercise far more impairment than skillful.

In that location's nothing inherently wrong with wanting to assist a lost or stuck baby songbird, simply it'south important to help in a safety, responsible way. While injured or sick birds may demand professional rehabilitation, healthy babies may just need a "heave" back into their plant nursery…or for you to dorsum off entirely.

The bottom line: humans mostly don't similar it when animals force themselves into our lives. So please don't insert yourself into the life of a baby bird who doesn't demand help!

Photo courtesy of Tim Pierce on Flickr