Ask Lafeber

Why my bird died?

Good night, about a week ago, we found a baby kiskadee. It could not fly, and its nest was inaccessible to us. So, we had taken the bird with us, and that night it had accepted food. In the morning, we returned to see if we could find the parents, and they came and fed her. Unfortunately, she still could not fly off with them. As a result, we continued to feed her at intervals, and in the morning and evening carry her back out for her parents to feed. We did this for about five days, but last night, she damaged leg, it came out of the socket. She was still alive this morning, but very weak. She tried to perch on my hand but could not and she was not chirping so her parents did not bring food. My mom and dad said she died about an hour after I left for school. Is there anything that I could have done differently to help her?

Hi,

If a baby bird can’t be returned to the nest, it is best to contact a wildlife rehabilitator. Taking the bird in at night was OK, and then returning it to let the parents feed it is sometimes a good option. But you should never feed a wild baby bird. I’m not sure what you fed it, but the wrong foods will not be digestible for the baby and can cause it to die. It sounds like whatever caused it to hurt the leg may have caused other injuries. So you really do not know why it died. I’m glad you tried to help it. There may have been something else wrong with it.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda