From World Bird Sanctuary

If you guessed that babies 1, 2, & 4 need help and that 3 & 5 do not, you were correct!

One of the main things a baby photo will tell us is if the baby is even old enough to be out of the nest. Below a certain age, the baby needs help regardless of injury status. These babies are all old enough to be out of the nest. It is hard to determine injury status at this age, as their fluff can hide wing droops or other fracture signs. They are old enough to be mobile, but still young enough that they spend most of their time laying down and trying to hide, making behavior assessment challenging as well.

What abnormalities do our professional rehabbers see when they look at each photo?

Most of us got 2 answers correct, but it just goes to show it’s hard to tell for the untrained eye. If you find a wild one that may need some help, give your pals at the local rehab a call! (And don’t feed them or give them liquids! The animals. The rehabbers can make their own decisions to accept your hospitality or not.)

  • anon6789OP
    14·
    1 day ago

    1. This photo was taken by our staff after performing a field exam. The baby was reported potentially entangled, so we went out to help extract and assess. The baby had extracted itself by the time we arrived and an exam found no injuries. This photo shows even wing and leg use as well as an appropriate behavioral response for this age, indicating a healthy baby. If this was a finder photo, we would not be concerned about the baby’s health.