In the tertiary form, my teacher found what she thought was an abandoned babe bird on the schoolhouse grounds. She asked if someone in the class would intendance for information technology, and days later, the European Starling I named Bluego (for a reason I wish I remembered) was living in a cardboard box in my sleeping room, padded with false web left over from Halloween. As a child, I was thrilled to be on my way toward condign a wild fauna rescuer, but years later I wondered if it was the right matter to do.

As I've learned, it probably wasn't. Like the vast majority of baby birds that people run into, Bluego was a weeks-old fledgling—not a newly born nestling. And this distinction is critical, wildlife rehabbers say, because most fledglings don't need to be rescued. "Eighty percentage of baby birds that come in accept basically simply been kidnapped," says Melanie Furr, didactics managing director at the Atlanta Audubon Society and a licensed volunteer at Atlanta Wild Animate being Rescue Effort. "They need to be taken back."

Wandering from the nest is exactly what fledglings—which are just learning to fly—are supposed to exercise, she says. Information technology's a normal part of a bird'due south development, and though these chicks might appear abandoned, they're likely under surveillance past their parents nearby. Of form, there is a gamble that they could be injured, sick, or in danger, so there are some cases where a fledgling might crave assistance.

Nestlings, on the other mitt, are almost e'er in need of rescue. Whether they fell or got pushed from their nest, they're " not ready to go off into the earth," southward ays Rita McMahon, Co-Founder and Manager of the Wild Bird Fund, a nonprofit animal rehab center in New York . How to help them, though, tin can vary.

To know when you should intervene—and how you can help if needed—ask yourself the questions below.

Is the bird a nestling or fledgling?

When y'all encounter a rogue infant, get-go determine its age, McMahon says.And there's one obvious sign: feathers. While fledglings are larger and covered near completely in down and feathers, nestlings are modest and typically naked—or with just a few fluffs. In other words, one looks like an awkward young bird, and the other kind of looks like a pink lilliputian alien. Y'all tin likewise distinguish age by move: fledglings tin can hop, whereas nestlings might but drag themselves on the ground by their bare wings.

If you've constitute asalubrious fledgling:  "Walk away from the bird," McMahon says. Rescuing good for you fledglings is not but unnecessary, but it tin be detrimental to their development. When raised by hand, she says, babies might misfile humans as their parents (not different the geese in the movie Wing Abroad Home). If that happens,"they don't know how to exist a bird," McMahon says.

American Robin nestlings. Tom Warren/Audubon Photography Awards

If you've found a nestling: Help. Commencement, look for the baby's nest in the nearby bushes or trees; if you find it, but put the chick back and the parents will resume care. And don't worry about touching the bird: The thought that once you lot've touched a babe bird it will exist rejected is not true, says Susan Elbin, director of conservation and science at New York Metropolis Audubon."Birds have a sense of aroma, but it's non very well adult," Elbin says. "They're non going to abandon their chick."

If the nest is nowhere to be found or simply out of achieve, just arts and crafts one yourself, Furr says. Find a small container, like a strawberry basket, and load it with a bit of T-shirt or some straw—anything dry will do. Gently identify the youngling inside, and braze the artificial nest in a tree shut to where the bird was found. "Yous want to become it every bit loftier upwards every bit possible," Furr says.

Once you've returned the bird to a nest—whether existent or homemade—proceed an eye out for the parents. If they don't return inside an hour,call a wildlife rehabilitation center.

Is the bird ill, wounded, or at risk?

Whether you lot come up across a fledgling or nestling, it's important to assess whether the bird needs medical assist or is in danger.

Ofttimes, information technology'south clear when the bird is in need of urgent care—if the cat dragged it in, that'southward a certain sign. Other times the signals are more subtle: Though information technology's a fledgling, information technology can't stand or hop unremarkably. The feathers might be wet though it'south not raining, indicating discharge or an disease that inhibits the production of preening oils. Or maybe information technology's surrounded by flies, which might bespeak an open wound.

During hot summer months, aridity is too common, McMahon says. "Their belly is like a prune, wrinkled, shriveled and suck in," she says.

If y'all call back you've found a ill or wounded fledgling or nestling, call a rehabber, country wildlife agency, or veterinary immediately. If information technology's after hours, take the baby to a safe and warm location, Furr says, such as a closed box with air holes and a heating pad below it. And even if your parental instincts boot in, don't feed the baby, she says.

"People take good intentions and think the baby bird is going to starve," Furr says. "But a lot of times information technology ends up doing more harm than good."

At Atlanta Wild Creature Rescue Endeavor, she'south seen babies with nutrient in their lungs from improper feeding. But if the chick is just kept in a dark place, its metabolism will slow down, she says, leaving enough of time for professional rehabbers to swoop in for a rescue.

You lot might as well come across a fledgling or nestling that's not injured, simply at adventure—such every bit from a prowling cat or human being feet. Here'due south an easy fix: "Put it in a bush," Elbin says. In other words, hide the chick or put information technology in a place that's out of reach or out of the manner.

And after all this, if you're even so not certain if the bird needs help or what to exercise, earlier doing anything, call your local wild fauna rehabilitation eye. Helping animals—and preventing fledgling kidnappings—is what they exercise.

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