From Rescue to Rehabilitation: Caring for a Bird Before Transfer

If you find a bird that may need help, contact a permitted wildlife rehabilitator before doing anything else. Use the ACT Naturally rehabilitation directory to find a rehabber near you. Send clear photographs, the exact location and time of rescue, and details of any contact with a cat, dog, vehicle, window, wire, poison, or water.

Please contact only one rehabber at a time. Sending the same query to several people may duplicate effort and delay the response. We are connected through a shared WhatsApp group and will refer your query to the rehabber best placed to help.

While you wait for a response, start reading this article from the beginning and follow the temporary-care instructions. A rescued bird belongs with a permitted wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible. The 48 hours covered by this guide are not a waiting period before asking for help. They apply only when distance, transport, weather, or the time of day makes an immediate transfer impossible. Once the rehabber responds, follow their instructions, even when they differ from the general guidance in this article.

A bleeding or badly injured bird can be taken directly to your nearest veterinary practice for urgent assessment. You can also use the Vets4Wildlife directory to find a wildlife veterinarian near you. A bird that is struggling to breathe, unresponsive, caught by a cat or dog, or unable to swallow normally also needs urgent professional help. Raptors, swifts, swallows, kingfishers, nightjars, and specialised waterbirds need expert guidance as quickly as possible.

Incorrect feeding can cause choking, nutritional damage, stress, or imprinting. The goal is simple: protect the bird’s chance of returning to the wild.

Before anything else: determine the bird’s age and family group

Before you think about food, determine whether the bird is a hatchling, nestling, fledgling, or precocial chick. Then identify its broad family and diet group. Food that helps one bird may seriously harm another. Age also tells you whether the bird needs a nest, can regulate its own body temperature, and should have been removed from where it was found at all.

Hatchling

A hatchling has only just emerged from the egg. It is usually naked or covered in sparse down. Its skin may look thin or almost transparent, and its eyes are closed or only beginning to open. It has very little strength or coordination and cannot regulate its own body temperature. A hatchling is completely dependent on its parents and should be with them.

Nestling

A nestling is older, but not yet ready to leave the nest. Its eyes are open or opening, pinfeathers are appearing, and its body becomes better feathered as it grows. The chest or belly may still be partly bare, while the wing and tail feathers remain short. A nestling may sit upright and beg strongly, but it still needs the warmth, support, and protection of its parents.

Fledgling

A fledgling is mostly or fully feathered and has left the nest as part of its normal development. Its wings and tail may still be shorter than an adult’s. It can usually perch, walk, hop, or run, although its first flights may be weak. Fledglings often follow their parents, call, flutter, and beg. An alert, active fledgling in a reasonably safe place is usually not abandoned and should not be rescued simply because it cannot yet fly well.

From left to right: Hatchling, nestling, and fledgling.

A note about precocial chicks

Ducklings, goslings, quail, francolin, guineafowl, and similar birds develop differently. They hatch with open eyes and a covering of down, and can walk and peck soon afterwards. They still depend on their parents for warmth and protection, but they usually feed themselves instead of gaping for food. A small, mobile, downy chick is therefore not automatically a fledgling. Its family group matters.

Should the bird have been rescued?

Parent-rearing is almost always better than human care. If a young bird is alert, active, fully feathered, and moving normally, first look and listen for its parents from a distance. Keep people, dogs, and cats away. The adults may simply be waiting for the area to become quiet before returning.

A bird needs help when it is clearly cold, injured, entangled, trapped, in immediate danger, or has been in the mouth of a cat or dog. A naked or partly feathered hatchling or nestling outside its nest also needs assistance. If it can safely be returned to the correct nest, or placed in an appropriate, secure substitute nest nearby under a rehabber’s guidance, that may restore the care it actually needs: its parents.

Record the exact place where the bird was found. Release and reunification decisions depend on this information. Never move a bird to a more convenient location without advice.

How the beak helps identify the family group

A bird’s beak is one of the best early clues to its family, even before its feathers have developed. Look at the length, depth, width, curve, and the point where the upper and lower beak meet. In young songbirds, also look at the colour inside the mouth and the soft gape flanges at the corners. These features help the parents place food accurately.

Beak shape is a useful guide, but it is not a guarantee. A baby’s beak may be shorter than an adult’s, while illness or cold can make the mouth colours appear dull. Always compare the beak clue with the feet, feathers, size, behaviour, and rescue location.

• Short, thick, conical beaks usually suggest seed-eating finches, sparrows, waxbills, whydahs, or mannikins.
• Wide, flattened beaks with a broad gape, sometimes with bristles at the base, are associated with birds that catch insects in flight, including flycatcher-type insectivores.
• Straight, fairly slender beaks with a large gape are common among thrushes and other birds that take insects, fruit, or both.
• Slender beaks with a soft, swollen-looking base or cere suggest pigeons and doves. Their babies require a specialised formula approach because their parents initially produce crop milk.
• Long, fine, often curved beaks suggest nectar-feeding birds such as sunbirds, although young birds’ beaks may not yet have reached adult length.
• Broad, flattened bills together with webbed feet identify many waterfowl, including ducklings and goslings.
• Strong, sharply hooked beaks combined with powerful grasping feet identify birds of prey. Do not handle or feed them without specialist direction.

Mouth colour offers another clue in many young songbirds. Yellow or orange mouths are often seen in insect-eating species, while pink or red mouths often occur in omnivores and grain-eaters. There are important exceptions, so never use mouth colour on its own to choose a diet.

Follow the safe order: warmth, hydration, and then food

A cold or dehydrated bird cannot digest food properly. Feeding it first may be fatal. Place the bird in a ventilated box in a quiet, dim room, away from children, pets, television, and conversation. Make a supportive nest from a soft baby blanket. A hatchling or nestling should sit upright with its head slightly raised and its legs beneath its body. Never leave a weak bird lying flat on a smooth surface.

Provide controlled, indirect warmth beneath only half of the container so the bird can move away if it becomes too warm. Do not press the bird against a hot-water bottle or use a heat lamp that can quickly cause overheating and dehydration. A cold bird may be dull, limp, and poorly responsive. An overheated bird may pant when it is not begging, hold its wings away from its body, or try to escape the warm area.

Once the bird is warm and responsive, check whether it can swallow normally before offering anything by mouth. Never give food or water to a depressed bird or one that is not swallowing. Liquid in the airway can cause suffocation. If a rehabber advises oral fluid, use an unflavoured infant electrolyte solution. Offer only tiny droplets to a calm, upright bird that is actively swallowing, and allow each drop to disappear before offering another. Never squirt liquid into the mouth, pour water down the throat, or force the beak open.

A warm, alert, and stable precocial bird may be given a very shallow dish of cool, previously boiled water. Place clean stones in the dish to reduce the risk of drowning or becoming chilled.

Food comes last. A bird stabilised late at night can usually rest somewhere warm, dark, and quiet until morning. Most birds need eight to ten uninterrupted hours of sleep. Do not wake the bird for routine feeds unless the rehabber has specifically told you to do so.

How feeding changes with age

Altricial hatchlings and nestlings are fed during daylight. A very young, responsive songbird may beg as often as every 20 minutes, while a well-feathered nestling may need food about once an hour. These are broad emergency intervals, not feeding instructions for every species. Offer food only when a warm, alert chick gapes and swallows normally, and stop when it no longer begs. Never pry open the beak or push food into an unresponsive bird.

Doves and pigeons feed their young differently from most other birds. The chick places its beak inside the parent’s mouth to receive nutrient-rich crop milk and, later, regurgitated food. Baby doves therefore tend to take fewer, larger feeds. In temporary care, I use a baby bottle and teat to imitate this natural feeding method. You can watch my demonstration in the linked video, but please consult a permitted wildlife rehabilitator before trying it.

Precocial chicks usually feed themselves. Once the chick is warm and stable, keep suitable food available during daylight and gently tap beside it to attract its attention. A moving insect may encourage an insect-eating chick to peck. Never chase a weak chick around the box to make it eat.

Nine temporary diet groups

These diets are emergency bridges, not complete hand-rearing programmes. The correct quantities, supplements, feeding methods, and weaning plans depend on accurate identification and professional supervision.

1. Doves and pigeons, excluding green pigeons

Beak clue: a relatively slender bill with a soft cere at the base, often on a plump-bodied chick with a small-looking head.

Use a quality hand-rearing formula such as Kaytee, Roudybush, or Avi-Plus. If nothing else is available for a short delay, finely powdered, good-quality cat pellets mixed smoothly with lukewarm, previously boiled water may serve as a temporary substitute. This does not reproduce crop milk. Offer the formula using the baby bottle and teat method described above and demonstrated in the linked video. Do not use a syringe or dropper, and do not offer another feed while the crop remains full.

2. Small finches, waxbills, whydahs, and mannikins

Beak clue: a short, deep, conical seed-cracking beak. The chick may also have a prominent gape or mouth pattern.

Use a quality hand-rearing formula with a small protein component, such as soft scrambled egg, veterinary recovery food, or good-quality cat pellets soaked until completely soft. The mixture is usually thicker than pigeon or parrot formula. Tiny chicks need very small, frequent daylight feeds. Always make sure they are warm and swallowing normally before feeding.

3. Bustards, ducklings, francolin, goslings, guineafowl, korhaan, and quail

Beak clue: these are generally down-covered, mobile, precocial chicks. Waterfowl have broad, flattened bills and webbed feet; gamebird chicks have shorter, stronger beaks and scratching feet.

Offer growing mash, Chick Chick No. 1, softbill crumbles, or a suitable hand-rearing food. Add protein such as small crickets, mealworms, insect pâté, soft scrambled egg, or soaked cat pellets. Keep food available during daylight and provide a very shallow water dish with clean stones. Once the chick is stable, allow supervised natural daylight while protecting it from cold, overheating, predators, and escape.

4. Mainly insect- and protein-eating birds

This group includes bee-eaters, chats, cuckoos, dikkops, some finches, honeyguides, hoopoes, kingfishers, nightjars, plovers or kiewiet, rollers, shrikes, sparrows, swifts, swallows, groundscraper thrushes, wagtails, weavers, and woodpeckers.

Beak clue: shape varies with hunting method. Look for a wide aerial-insectivore gape, a straight probing beak, a spear-like fishing beak, or a strong pointed beak rather than a deep seed-cracking cone.

Temporary foods may include pet-shop crickets and other suitable insects, veterinary recovery food, or good-quality cat pellets soaked until completely soft. Soft scrambled egg or mealworms may be used in moderation. Never feed mince, as it causes serious calcium and nutritional problems. Swifts need a mainly insect-based diet with the correct supplements and are difficult to rear successfully. Arrange specialist transfer urgently.

5. Mainly fruit-eating birds

This group includes mousebirds, loeries or turacos, and green pigeons.

Beak clue: identification varies, so combine the beak with the whole bird. Mousebirds have distinctive climbing feet and a long tail when older; turacos have a short, strong beak; green pigeons resemble other pigeons but require a fruit-based diet.

Offer washed, peeled, ripe fruit such as berries, mulberries, papaya, banana, peach, mango, pear, or apple with all seeds removed. Plain fruit baby food can be used briefly in an emergency. Grey loeries and speckled mousebirds can also receive moderate amounts of leafy greens or vegetables, together with a small protein component such as soft scrambled egg, an occasional soaked cat pellet, or a mealworm. Fruit should make up roughly 80 per cent of the temporary diet for this group. Keep mousebirds warm, as they naturally prefer to hang with their stomach supported against a warm surface.

6. Fruit- and insect-eating birds

This group includes bulbuls, barbets, orioles, mynas, robins, starlings, most thrushes other than the groundscraper thrush, and white-eyes.

Beak clue: usually a medium, straight or slightly curved beak that can take soft fruit and animal food, rather than a specialised seed cone or raptor hook.

Combine suitable foods from the insect group with washed, peeled fruit or plain fruit purée. The ideal ratio differs between species. This is where a clear photograph and a rehabber’s identification become particularly important.

7. Sunbirds

Beak clue: a fine, elongated, often curved beak. Remember that a hatchling or fledgling beak may be shorter than the adult version.

Sunbirds need both nectar and animal protein. Offer very small crickets, mealworms, or other suitable insects under guidance. To prepare emergency nectar, combine one teaspoon of Horlicks, one tablespoon of brown sugar, one teaspoon of honey, one tablespoon of golden syrup, and half a teaspoon of Bovril. Mix these ingredients with a small amount of warm, previously boiled water. Add one egg yolk and 500 ml of previously boiled, cooled water, and mix thoroughly. The mixture may be refrigerated for up to two days if the egg yolk has not yet been added. Replace nectar in a clean bowl every five hours. This recipe is temporary food for sunbirds. Never use it as a general rehydration drink for other birds.

8. Cormorants, coucals, crows, darters, egrets, grebes, and herons

This broad emergency group also includes hadadas and ibises, which need a high-protein diet.

Beak clue: many fishing birds have long, straight, spear-like, or hooked beaks. Coucals and crows have stronger, general-purpose beaks, while hadadas and ibises have long, curved beaks adapted for probing.

Temporary foods may include soaked, good-quality cat pellets, small pieces of chicken heart, day-old chicks where appropriate, or soft scrambled egg. Hadadas and ibises may take soaked dog food. Crows need a varied, high-protein diet with suitable fruit, grains, vegetables, and organ meat. Never use mince. Many birds in this group have specialised feeding, waterproofing, housing, and release needs, so ask for guidance for the individual bird.

9. Buzzards, eagles, hawks, falcons, kites, and owls

Beak clue: a powerful hooked beak together with strong feet and sharp talons.

Birds of prey need whole-prey nutrition and can injure an inexperienced handler. Keep the bird dark, quiet, and minimally handled while arranging urgent specialist transfer. Under direct guidance, temporary foods may include chicken hearts with a calcium supplement that contains no vitamin D3, day-old chicks with the yolk sac removed, or whole rats or mice. Raw chicken liver or breast with suitable calcium is a temporary measure only. Never feed mince or red meat such as beef, lamb, or pork. A bird of prey may open its beak defensively; this is not an invitation to hand-feed it.

Protect the bird from people as well as hunger

Young birds need protection from people as much as they need food. Petting, cuddling, talking to, or repeatedly checking the bird increases stress and may teach it to associate people with food. After taking the clear photographs needed for identification, put the phone away. Imprinting or habituation can prevent release. Handle the bird only when essential, keep the container visually screened, and make feeding quiet and efficient.

Use separate, clean utensils for the bird. Wash your hands before and after care, wear gloves when practical, and clean and disinfect the container and equipment. Wild birds can carry organisms that affect people, pets, poultry, and other wild birds. Never place an unknown bird with another rescue.

What not to do

• Do not feed a cold, severely dehydrated, unresponsive, or non-swallowing bird.
• Do not pour or squirt liquid into the mouth.
• Do not force the beak open or try to place food or liquid deep inside the mouth.
• Do not assume every fully feathered young bird on the ground is abandoned.
• Do not choose food from mouth colour or beak shape alone. Confirm the family group first.
• Do not use mince as a general insectivore or carnivore food.
• Do not turn temporary care into taming or pet keeping.

The handover matters

Keep a short, written record of the warmth provided, fluids and foods offered, approximate amounts, feeding times, droppings, and any change in behaviour. Give this record, the rescue location, photographs, and the original container to the rehabber. If you made a feeding mistake, say so. Accurate information helps the next person make safer decisions.

The first 48 hours are not about perfect hand-rearing. They are about preventing avoidable harm until the bird reaches someone with the permits, facilities, diets, experience, and release plan it needs. Identify before feeding. Warm before hydrating. Make sure the bird can swallow before offering anything by mouth. Feed for the family group, minimise human contact, and keep working towards transfer.

Acknowledgements

Parys WADER acknowledges Pieter Saunders, Lynn Ravat, and Sigrid Oliver for their contributions to the article first shared in the Helpless Wings Facebook Group and later adapted as ‘The Dos and Don’ts of Rescuing Wild Birds’.

Technical guidance was drawn from Hand-Rearing Birds, Second Edition, edited by Rebecca S. Duerr and Laurie J. Gage, particularly Rebecca S. Duerr’s chapter ‘Baby Bird Basics’ and Linda M. Tuttle-Adams’s chapter ‘Identification and Aging’. Their work helped refine the guidance on stabilisation, hydration, age assessment, and identification.

Sources

Saunders, Pieter, Lynn Ravat, and Sigrid Oliver. ‘The Dos and Don’ts of Rescuing Wild Birds.’ Marisa Louw, 2021. https://marisalouw.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-dos-and-donts-of-rescuing-wild-birds.html

Duerr, Rebecca S., and Laurie J. Gage, editors. Hand-Rearing Birds. 2nd ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2020. See especially Chapter 1, ‘Baby Bird Basics’, by Rebecca S. Duerr, and Chapter 2, ‘Identification and Aging’, by Linda M. Tuttle-Adams.