How to Help Save an Injured Bird

There are many ways in which a bird can injure itself but the most common ways are when it falls down from its nest or when it flies into a window. If you find a bird in this condition, you will surely want to save it. But in most cases, you will be at a loss to help the bird. You must know what should be your course of action if you really want to provide immediate medical help to the bird.

The first thing to remember when you find an injured bird is that you should not be tempted to take it home and make it your pet without getting a license. Since you don’t have much knowledge about handling injured pet animals, you can cause its condition to deteriorate and maybe even die. If possible, you should take the advice of a vet who will know how to handle the bird.
It is very important to judge if the bird is actually injured or you have been wrong in thinking about it. If you find a bird hopping on the ground but already its feathers have developed on the body, it may not be injured and you don’t have to pick it up. When the baby birds are developing feathers newly, they find it very hard to fly at first and so keep hopping on the ground. They will ultimately return to the nest and so you don’t have to be worried about them.
If you find a baby bird on the ground which does not have feathers and is covered with down, you can safely assume that it has fallen from its nest. If you look around, you can find the nest in the nearby bushes. It may have fallen down on its own or may have been pushed to the ground by the other babies in the nest. But before you think of transferring the baby back to its nest, you must know that its mother will not accept it if it can smell human touch on its body. So you can cover your hands with a washcloth or drop a towel on the bird before picking it up. You can then place it back in its nest with great care.
If you find a bird which has flown into windows and has dropped to the ground, then too you should leave it alone. The bird may not be actually injured physically, but just dazed. As soon as it feels better, it will fly away on its own. You can wait for some time to see if the bird is actually too badly injured to fly.
In case the bird is really too injured to fly, then you should take the help of experts. The RSPCA or the local nature reserve will come to your aid and will look after the bird. The injured bird will be kept under the supervision of an expert who will be able to save its life.

You may feel hesitant to pick up an injured bird in case it hurts you. You should be careful of birds of prey that might attack you even if you try to help them. If the bird is too injured and weak, it will not protest or fight if you pick it up. But for best results, you can drop a towel over the bird and then pick it up. You can then keep it in a cardboard box till you reach a vet or any other expert.