OT. Tiny baby bird, how to ID?

[cookiebun]

Sorry to post this here. I hope some rehabber here knows some good links to help ID a tiny baby bird.
Guy at work brought me a nestling. I've raised starlings and I know he's not that, I raised 1 sparrow and I don't think its one of those either.
I put birdy in a little bowl, gave him a couple pieces of dried cat food soaked in water. Then I took him back to where he was found. I think there may be a nest near the top of the tree. Under the tree is an evergreen shrub where I was able to secure the bowl w/birdy. Birdy spent the day in the bowl out of the sun, fairly safe from most predators but close enough to his parents that they could hear and feed him if they wanted to.
Birdy is on my patio now because it's going to pour down rain in buckets, otherwise I'd have left him in the shrub.
I'm thinking if birdy is a Cardinal or Robin his parents may continue to care for him (if they didn't kick him out). From what I've seen, Starlings and Sparrows don't take care of nestlings that fall out of the nest.
Would be nice to know what kind of bird he is so I can decide how to proceed. I plan to take birdy back to shrub at sun up.
thanks.

[4skwerlz]

Sorry to post this here. I hope some rehabber here knows some good links to help ID a tiny baby bird.

No problem. Is he eating? Does he have any feathers at all? Can you post a pic?

[Mars]

can you post a picture? How big is the little one? Coloring? The color of the inside of the mouth and the "lips" are a big clue in identifing nestlings. (Not that I'm good at it mind you but I'll give it a shot)

[hazel]

Try birdforum.net to see if they can help you. I'm sure a picture would be helpful to them too and they will surely want to know what color the inside of it's mouth is.

Good luck!:flash3

[cookiebun]

I gotta read the darn manual for this camera. Can't get a pic in decent focus. Hope this helps some.
Birdy has yellow "lips" and the inside of his mouth is pink. He doesn't have one of those weird yellow bony tongues Starlings stick out at you.
He likes his water soaked cat food but I really have to cram it down his mouth to get him to swallow. He hasn't figured out "swallowing". The sun is going down and he seems full because he won't open his mouth wide any more.
Don't want to stress him out too much.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Aww! Looks like a baby sparrow to me!

[4skwerlz]

I gotta read the darn manual for this camera. Can't get a pic in decent focus. Hope this helps some.
Birdy has yellow "lips" and the inside of his mouth is pink. He doesn't have one of those weird yellow bony tongues Starlings stick out at you.
He likes his water soaked cat food but I really have to cram it down his mouth to get him to swallow. He hasn't figured out "swallowing". The sun is going down and he seems full because he won't open his mouth wide any more.
Don't want to stress him out too much.

Baby birds don't eat after sunset. Just put him someplace dark, quiet, and safe for the night. He looks like a mockingbird to me. But I will see if I can find out for sure. Actually it could be a House Sparrow.

[cookiebun]

He's in his bowl which is inside a pet taxi outside on the patio.
He should be ok for the night. Temp is going to drop to about 80 (from 96!) tonight and it's very humid. Does that sound warm enough?

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I would bring him in and put him on a heating pad. You don't want him getting too cold. Their body temps can drop so fast. His parents won't come for him during the night anyways, so it won't hurt any. It will also protect him from predators.

[island rehabber]

He looks like a house sparrow to me, too.....I rescued one a month ago that looked just like him....:dono

[4skwerlz]

He's in his bowl which is inside a pet taxi outside on the patio.
He should be ok for the night. Temp is going to drop to about 80 (from 96!) tonight and it's very humid. Does that sound warm enough?

I thought he WAS inside. Yes, bring him inside. I usually put mine in a large cardboard box inside my garage, which is very warm this time of year. But any warm, dark room will do. You can make a "nest" with a t-shirt or some fleece. If you use a heating pad, I would put it under the box but not directly under his nest. Then PARTLY cover the top of the box to help hold in the heat. Baby birds do not require as much heat as baby mammals.

[cookiebun]

I finally found it!.
Knew I'd seen these picks before:
http://crow1.homestead.com/sparrow.html
http://www.starlingtalk.com/starlingid.htm
He looks most like the 6 day old sparrow. I'll have to look at his head in the morning to be sure.
He wasn't doing the normal baby sparrow chirp, more like "pip pip" that the female cardinals do. The starlings and the sparrows like to nest in the eaves of our building, there's hundreds of them and we listen to them for months on end.
Actually it's chilly in my apt, 76. We've been having a heatwave here. I had him in earlier while I was putting him in his new bowl and he seemed to be shivering (if birds actually do that). I'll dig out the heating pad and see if I can find him a spot away from the ac.
Thanks everyone.

[4skwerlz]

I finally found it!.
Knew I'd seen these picks before:
http://crow1.homestead.com/sparrow.html
http://www.starlingtalk.com/starlingid.htm
Actually it's chilly in my apt, 76. We've been having a heatwave here. I had him in earlier while I was putting him in his new bowl and he seemed to be shivering (if birds actually do that). I'll dig out the heating pad and see if I can find him a spot away from the ac.
Thanks everyone.

If he's shivering, try cupping him in your two warm hands for a while with just his head poking out. Get rid of the bowl because that doesn't hold heat well. Make him a "nest" out of an old t-shirt or something else soft and fluffy. Heating pad on "low" as described. Then the rest as described in the previous post. He will be ready for breakfast as soon as the sun comes up. Good luck.

[Gabe]

I would guess sparrow or finch. Of course there are different birds in different states and that makes it difficult. In NY state I know what birds are nesting depending on the time of year. It is easier if you can get a picture of the inside of his mouth. The colors vary with species.
I would leave him in a small plastic margarine tub lined with tissues. They need to have their feet tucked up under neath themselves for them to develop properly. If the feet are loose they can end up splay-legged. A heating pad over the TOP, as though mama were on top, will keep him warm.
He should be fed every half hour from sunrise to sundown. He should gape willingly or he is too cold and his belly should be big and round, not flat and wrinkly.

[cookiebun]

Many thanks for the reply gabe:
I'm in Ohio. It's legal here to rehab a sparrow or starling here w/o a license, not sure about the house finches. At the height of baby season here the licensed rehabbers DON'T want you to bring them birds that aren't native.
Birdy is in his bowl in the closet tonight with a heating pad., temp outside is going to drop to the 60's. I've got the temp in the bowl up to 85, is that warm enough?
He spent the day in the shrub. I was able to watch for awhile from a distance. Saw no birds go into the shrub to feed him. No sign that the poop had been removed from his "nest" . Birdy was very hungry when I stopped by to feed him every 90 minutes.
Will call the Wildlife center tomorrow to see if they are willing to take a baby sparrow.
Would it be ok to feed him some chopped up meal worms with his cat food and hardboiled egg yoke?
Thanks for the belly tip. I checked his, it's warm and round. :thankyou

[Mars]

Yes, I believe meal worms would be welcomed. :)

[Gabe]

I second the cut up mealworm. He needs loads of calcium right now so that his bones devleop properly.

It is difficult to tell in the picture, but the bird looks bigger than a sparrow. There is nothing to gauge the size by. Let us know what the wildlife center thinks it is

[cookiebun]

Better pics of bird. he's in the shrub now. Wildlife center said they'd take him.
Haven't seen any adults. He likes his mealworm/beefbabyfood/eggyoke/catfood mix.

[Gabe]

Ok, back to sparrow:D

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I see you are in Ohio. I am too. I would usually be more than happy to take the little guy, but I am having surgery, so I can't take on any animals right now. If you pm me a more specific location, I could try to help you find someone.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

A good diet for the little guy would be kitten food soaked in water with ground up calcium pill, hard boiled egg yolk, and bird vitamin added to it. Add 1/8 cup of kitten food and 1/4 cup of water and mix it up and add the other stuff to it and it should be good. Just a hint, it is easier to soak the cat food if you grind it up in a blender first.

[Gabe]

Can I add to the recipe? Use egg white instead of the yolk. The egg white is protein which they need, the yolk is fat.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Thanks Gabe, I always used the yolk, I will have to use the whites next time.