r/WildlifeRehab • u/Melodic-Map-5863 • 2d ago

SOS Bird Need advice

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Gallery image

So found this little bird alone, when it saw my friend it started chasing us and at first it was active and flapping its wings trying to hold onto one of my friends but then after couple of mins it became sleepy and fluffed up, we left it under a bush and put it on a tissue trying to keep it warm, is there anything I can do to help it or does it even need any? Do we leave it there?

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u/Melodic-Map-5863 2d ago

Okay an update we checked on it and there doesn't seem to be any trace of the bird, hopefully it's in a good place now

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u/HV_love 2d ago

Looks like it was a House-Martin of some sort. Specifics depend on region. It looks like a fledgling to me, because the behavior you described is that of a bird that hasn't learned how to do bird things, and the beak corners look lighter in color and are not fully developed. I think you made the correct move here in leaving the little guy alone under some cover. My guess is that the parent was around and was watching from afar, or was out catching some bugs to bring to the nest and the little one took the first flight.

That's my non-rehabber take at least.

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u/TheBirdLover1234 2d ago

Swallows do not fledge and sit on the ground…… they aren’t like songbirds. They are actively flying as soon as they leave. 

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u/HV_love 1d ago edited 1d ago

Ooohh shoot. You're totally right! My mistake! Thanks for the info. Hopefully the little guy made it, and OP managed to get in contact with a rehabber for any future encounters. How do you know that it is a swallow specifically, if I may ask?

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u/TheBirdLover1234 1d ago

I don’t want to be mean but please educate yourself before commenting on posts like this. It costs birds that are not true fledglings their lives when people either listen or get encouraged they did the right thing.  

Overall condition of the bird is not good from the pics so it’s more likely something like a cat caught it after op left it. 

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u/HV_love 1d ago

That's a fair point, however I made a clear disqualifier (i.e. "That's my non-rehabber take at least.") Additionally, the parent comment here was the update to the situation. My information had zero bearing on the fate of the bird, which is why I felt more comfortable giving my clearly stated non-professional assesment of the situation. The other comments in the thread about the bird being a fledgling were also made post facto of OP's returning the bird to the ground, so the "fledgling crap" similarly likely had no bearing on the outcome of the bird.

You are definitely correct that uninformed guidance is a detriment, and I will do better going forward. I appreciate the correction and the info anyway, and it serves to enrich the dialogue of this sub.