• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Abandoned Baby House Sparrows (1 Viewer)

Wabby, you've been a big help!

Wabby Twax,

I found this site yesterday while frantically looking for information about caring for two abandoned nestlings which I think are house sparrows. I discovered them yesterday in my garden. Before I could get both to safety, a cat came along and grabbed one of them. I've been caring for the remaining one since this time yesterday. It's doing quite well considering it must have fallen from its nest, which I could not find in the large evergreen trees on our property. My husband thinks a cat may have knocked the nest and caused the nestlings to tumble out. While comparing pictures that are posted online, I think this little guy is about 9 days old. Wabby, I noticed that your post is from York, PA. I live near Reading, PA. I hope that this little bird will do as well as your brood. I am feeding it a mixture of cat kibble soaked in water, canned dog food (beef), hard-boiled egg yolk, and peanut nuggets (a high energy food with suet and roasted peanuts) which are soft and mix easily with the other ingredients. Any other suggestions from you or anyone else reading these posts would be welcome. I am a bird watcher with several bird feeders and lots of trees, bushes and shrubs on and around our house. We have tons of birds but also lots of neighborhood cats. It's a welcoming area for birds but can also be very dangerous. If I can figure out how to send a picture, I will send one along later today. Wish me luck!
 
It sounds like you're doing well and as long as you are feeding them a protein rich variety they should grow just fine. I think of the things I see sparrows eating in parking lots and theme parks and what you and I are feeding them is certainly more nutritious than that. I'm no expert but I wanted to document everything so that other folks like yourself can take something helpful from it. I think that if you think its a House Sparrow it probably is. Other birds seem to have very clear distinctions. Expect to see some growth every day because they mature quickly. It is sad that your baby bird is alone because from what I've read they do better in the wild if they're raised with siblings. From watching mine I believe they pick up some behaviors from each other. Some examples are preening, flying, chirping and socialization. When one takes off from the cage while I'm feeding its common that a second or third follows. You may find that it would make a good pet or perhaps someone you know would like it as a pet once its matured. Otherwise as other people have said you could contact your local wildlife rehabiliator who is equipped with an outdoor aviary, perhaps with other abandoned birds that it can socialize and experience the natural sounds and sights of an outdoor habitat. Also you would have to be available (at your birds current stage in growth) every hour or so to feed it. I would suggest attempting to feed it every 30 minutes the first 8-10 feedings in case it has gone a while without food.

In addition to my earlier posts, I have stopped trying to feed them the peaches baby food because they seem to not really like it. I put it near them to let them peck at it from the toothpick and sometimes they will do that a few times. I've also attempted to give them tiny bits of chopped fruit (apple, melons, strawberries, grapes). I have seen no interest in that either at this point but I left a few pieces lying in the cage just in case they want to investigate it.
 
Last edited:
birdpotter said:
Something is bothering me about the way these 'house sparrows' look. I have never seen a HS fledgling with streaks like these have. Can anyone out there disspell my doubt?
Click to expand...

Birdpotter, I also thought they looked rather unusual for house sparrow fledglings. The wings are similar but the streaking on the head and chest doesn't look like normal house sparrow fledglings. See attached link. http://www.backyardbirdcam.com/gallery/sparrow-house-fledge.htm

Could they be some other type of sparrow or finch? Possibly House Finches - see attached link http://www.geocities.com/tgrey41/Pages/HouseFinchp.html


Aside from that, well done Wabbytwax for looking after them so well. They really look like they are thriving.

Jo
 
Last edited:
Wow you make an excellent point. I have the "National Geograpihc Field Guide to the Birds of North America" and after seeing the picture you linked to I confirmed that perhaps mine are not a "House Sparrow" after all. I couldn't find "House Sparrow" in my guide book at first because they are not listed with other sparrows but at the very last page under "Old World Sparrows" which I was able to find by looking in the "Quick Find Index" just now. The illustrations of a "House Sparrow" in the book does coincide with the photo you linked to. The spotted streaks on my birds' chests does seem like that of a "Chipping Sparrow" which are also one of the few types of sparrows commonly found in this region. There are still a couple more less likely candidates that are spotted when juvenile like mine. It is hard to tell at this stage of their life based on colors and patterns. I also notice that the way their tail splits when seen from underneath matches that of a Chipping Sparrow. Thanks for showing me this picture and provoking me to further inquire. I listened to the sound of a Chipping Sparrow here:
http://whatbird.wbu.com/obj/237/overview/Chipping_Sparrow.aspx

And it doesnt sound anything even close to the sounds mine make. Mine make single short "Chirp"s. Perhaps I'll hook up a mic and record the sound and upload it. Also the above URL describes their nests as flimsy and almost see through. The nest that these were in was quite hearty but was blown over because we live at the top of a hill and it gets quite windy here. In fact the last Nor-Easter storm we had blew the siding off of both sides of my house and I'm finally getting that repaired this week. Perhaps in some areas the "House Sparrow" fledgling does have a spotted plumage. If anyone can confirm whether or not this is possible I would greatly appreciate it. I can take more photos if anyone would like a particular closeup or angle to help me identify these more accurately.
 
Last edited:
I think that right there settles it. There is no dark line through my birds eyes which is obvious on chipping sparrows. I couldnt find any type of distinctive lines at all in the face in fact which is exactly like those pictures of the house finch. I believe that explains why I have been having a difficult time determining the type of sparrow it is =P.

Also I found pictures like this one:
http://www.paws.org/pics/emailpics/housefinch.jpg

That is perfectly identical to the photos i've taken. Even the way the baby down above the eyes is still present as it becomes a fledgling is exactly how mine look. Thanks for the information and Im happy to say now that I have 4 baby "House Finches" not Sparrows lol.
 
Wabby Twax: Sure don't want to rain on your parade, but you should be aware that, in the US, the having in possession of even a feather of a native bird without a research or rehab permit, is illegal and punishable by up to a $500 dollar fine and 6 months in jail. I agree with you, this seems harsh and arbitrary, but you must understand that this was brought about by the hunting of the most abundant bird on the continent, Passenger Pigeon , to extinction, and the collecting of Egret plumes for ladies hats almost drove them to extinction.
In the 1940s House Finches were only found on the West Coast (called Hollywood finches). Some jokers caged a bunch and took them to New York to sell as pets. As the regulators were coming in the front door of the pet shops, the owners were releasing them out the back. One theory of the current house finch eye disease in the East is that it is the result of that limited gene pool.

Craig
 
Last edited:
Yes I do understand that finches are protected by law and I left a message for my local rehabilitator twice and have gotten no response. I did mention in the messages that they were house sparrows but I still should have probably gotten a response. I am not going to just let these birds die so I'll wait until they can feed themselves then let them go. I don't mind taking care of them and I have plenty of time to do it. Should I report to some agency that I have them to keep things legal or how does that work?
 
Its nice to see people spending their time looking after something that most people would ignore, well done!!

If you had left them then the outcome is obvious.
 
Well done for all your efforts WabbyTwax and good luck with their eventual release. Hopefully you will be able to contact a rehabilitator to assist with their re-introduction back into the wild.

Jo
 
Last edited:
Well I decided that because they were so far along that I would keep them a couple more days and then release them from my deck and attend to them if they still need fed by me. I wanted them to stay in my area and I figured its a good time to let them explore since they can all fly so well now.

After I let them go one after another they flew into the surrounding trees and around the house. I went out every hour or so to see if they were hungry enough to come back to me but I could only see one that was chirping and he didnt want to come out of the tree so I just kept checking back.

4 hours later I went out with a fresh spoon of my home-made bird food and finally the one bird came over and wanted fed. It was even jumping up on my hand when I went to put some food on the toothpick. After a few seconds the rest came out of nowhere and wanted fed so I was happy to see they were all doing okay. I also have their cage emptied out on a table as a recognition marker for them plus I left a shallow bowl of water and a bowl of bird seed mix for them.

I will keep checking on them every couple hours or so and feed them if they need it. At least now they can explore the neighborhood and learn to feed themselves. I'll try to get some photos tomorrow if they're still around.
 
Heres some pictures of the birds coming to the deck to eat after being outside. This is the third time they came over to let me feed them after being out for about 8 hours. I've only fed 3 at any time but I think I've seen all four at one time or another. There are some adult House Finches flying around with juveniles following behind. I think I've seen my birds trying to follow some adult birds around on rooftops but cant be certain they were mine.
 

Attachments

  • birds13.jpg
    birds13.jpg
    99.7 KB · Views: 322
  • birds15.jpg
    birds15.jpg
    108 KB · Views: 222
  • birds16.jpg
    birds16.jpg
    129 KB · Views: 260
  • birds17.jpg
    birds17.jpg
    98.4 KB · Views: 212
  • birds18.jpg
    birds18.jpg
    113.2 KB · Views: 256
I woke up this morning to one of the birds chirping for me out on the deck. I went out and all four were frantically begging to be fed. It was lightly raining but didn't seem to bother the birds at all. I went through 2 of the plastic teaspoons of food before they were satisified and flew back into their favorite tree.

Does anybody suggest I put some millet into their food or would they not be able to digest it yet?
 
Chipping Sparrows?

WabbyTwax said:
Pictures continued from previous post..
Click to expand...
--- Wabby, I read through some of your posts, and I looked atcha pics, but I am thinking those are chipping sparrows, not house sparrows(or english sparrows). I myself was blessed with the chance to nurture a day old nestling into adulthood this spring, and know that he is DEF a house sparrow. Looking further into the sparrow types in this region, I noticed your juvenile sparrows resemble "chippers" :) My little (and I did find this most humorous of all) "Jack's" feathered belly isnt as speckled/streaked as your adoptees are. Hope this helps you (and wasnt already posted)! Good Luck to you Wabby!
 
Well I think we've discovered that they are actually House Finches. The reason I couldn't figure out what kind of sparrow they were was because they weren't a sparrow at all. After seeing other pictures of fledgling House Finches I am 99% certain they are House Finches. Heres some pictures I took feeding them for the second time today out on the deck. I was able to get all four in a couple shots and you can see their favorite tree in the background where they usually hang out.

My biggest concern is whether or not instincts will kick in and the birds will adapt normal eating behaviors. I have noticed twice today that theres a small bird that could be a House Finch that was eating some of the seed I had out. It flies away wen I open the door so I'll have to try and get a better look at what kind of bird it is. But the fledglings could pick up these behaviors from other birds like this I hope.
 

Attachments

  • birds19.jpg
    birds19.jpg
    107.9 KB · Views: 338
  • birds20.jpg
    birds20.jpg
    119.6 KB · Views: 290
  • birds21.jpg
    birds21.jpg
    106.5 KB · Views: 192
  • birds22.jpg
    birds22.jpg
    125 KB · Views: 220
Last edited:
I am glad you figured out who this little guys are.
And, wow, a huge kudos to you.
You have really done a great job.
Don't worry too much about them not getting the hang of the wild. Enjoy their fleeting company while you can. I think one day you might be surprised when you don't see them again...which will be a good thing!
 
I just found one like this today

We found a baby bird in the driveway, and found the nest in a small pine bush with one dead baby still half in the nest. Looked like something killed them but not a cat, the bird would have been eaten and they were left. Tried putting the bird back in the nest and watched all day, and no parents returned to the nest. So, took it inside, and started feeding it some soaked cat kibble. It was really hungry and fed right away. It pooped a huge poop afterwards which I thought was a good sign? Anyways, we fed it every 30 min or so, and its now asleep for the night. My husband will take it to work with him tomorrow, he's a fireman and can feed it at the station when he is there, and we are going to try to contact the wildlife center near us to see if they want to take it. I believe it is a chirping sparrow, but not sure yet. The nest resembles what photos of their nest look like. We are in northwestern ohio, in the rural area so we have lots of birds around, we think some other birds raided the nest. I am going to try to make the food you mention in your posts and see if it works better. Wish us luck!
 
Yeah despite what people might think the fact that the birds I took care of are now flying around outside my home and healthy speaks for itself. I'm on my third batch now and will probably have to make a fourth. They still require me to feed it to them but now only every 2 - 4 hours during the day. I think now that they're flying around on their own they're hopefully experimenting with things to nibble on. I know i've seen them pecking around at things on the ground. The reason I picked up the crunchy corn baby finger snacks is beause it had the corn and I liked the fact that it had electrolytes which would keep the birds hydrated and give them energy. I should mention that after making each batch I would test to see if it was too thick for them to eat and mix in some water as needed but was careful not to add too much water. When it's just right its thick enough that when you put it on a spoon cold it doesnt fall off upsidedown. But I heat it up for 10-15 seconds and it becomes more fluid which I stir around with the toothpick on the plastic spoon until it cools off some.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 12 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

L
Robins nesting
Replies
15
Views
968
seedyrom
seedyrom
E
Baby Birds Found on the Ground.
Replies
0
Views
359
E.guerra
E
L
Carolina Wrens abandoned nest?
Replies
14
Views
1K
Inkedtoo
I
C
Dead chickadee babies in nest? Why?
Replies
0
Views
155
Coopercoop
C
T
Can a mourning dove survive in the wild if it’s still on bird formula?
Replies
2
Views
268
Taraha858
T

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top