Brown Cuckoo Dove
What do you do with a bird in an emergency?
Well if you have found the bird in your backyard and it seems calm and friendly – it’s probably close to death. It’s just too sick to get away from you.
I had a case recently where a neighbour found a budgie and kept it for a while since it was tame. Eventually he brought it to me, assuring me that it was a tame pet. I told him that this was an emergency and that it wasn’t tame at all. Nonetheless he continued saying that it was a tame bird.
After the neighbour left I started emergency treatment of the starving bird and after about a week it recovered. It’s now happy, healthy & as wild as can be. Birds starve to death in as little as 24 hours. I placed some “lost bird” signs around the neighbourhood but no-one came forward to claim it so it’s still residing happily with us.
When you catch a sick bird, get it to a local bird keeper immediately or contact WIRES, the wildlife rescue service.
Hooroo!