Thanks Vanessa. On the positive side, the bird appears to be holding its wings evenly. Draw a visual line from wingtip to wingtip across the body and you’ll see that the wing tips are even--one isn’t drooping lower than the other. This implies that wing bones fractures are not likely the issue. Keel fractures are the result of hard frontal impacts, e.g. an owl and car windshield collision. If the full impact was frontal, the wings MAY also look even in that case. “Angel wing” is a deformity (genetic or nutritional) that more often than not appears only in one wing. It’s unlikely you would find an adult bird in that condition in the wild. Young birds with that problem are usually victims of predation near the nest site.
As Chris mentioned, a window strike is a more likely scenario. In that case,--if it was not a severe impact—it’s possible the bird could recover after a short rest. Placing it in a box in a warm, quite area is the first thing to try. If it was a minor hit, you may hear the bird moving around in the box. Peek in and look at the wing position. If they are being held normally, got outside to a more protected area and open the box. Ideally, the bird will hop out on its own or immediately fly off. Putting it safely in a box, keeping it warm and quiet are actions not to be under-rated. It is most important to never to attempt to feed our water an injured bird. Lots of harm can come from those simple actions. If the bird does not look BAR (bright, alert and responsive) and ready to leave when you open the box, then a trip to the vet is warranted. Hope this helps you in the future. Regards, Rose Borzik From: Vanessa Ng [mailto:vanessang...@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2015 2:00 PM To: Rosalie V Borzik Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] bird in my yard, not flying Importance: Low Thanks all (and again, apologies about Smugmug.....I'm about to send them hatemail again how I've just unlocked the site and people still can't get in).....but Chris replied back to me with the following: "If you are near the Cornell Vet School, you can collect the American Goldfinch (use a towel or sheet to throw over the bird, so you can catch it) and place it in a small box with air holes for breathing. Then, take the box with bird to the Cornell Vet School. They have a Wildlife Clinic that will check the bird out. It may have suffered from a window strike or may be the result of a failed attempt by a cat or raptor at catching it (but escaped with injuries)." That's if I can find him again, that is.....:( I don't see how he made such significant progress in crossing the yard to somewhere else in the time I came in to reply to email, and went back out again..... This link appears to work: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-vstnWT/i-tbcRKWK/A On Wed, Oct 21, 2015 at 1:34 PM, Rosalie V Borzik <r...@cornell.edu<mailto:r...@cornell.edu>> wrote: Still blocked from the site. Email to me at: rborzik AT Audubon.org or text to 342-0271 Rose From: bounce-119805187-24907...@list.cornell.edu<mailto:bounce-119805187-24907...@list.cornell.edu> [mailto:bounce-119805187-24907...@list.cornell.edu<mailto:bounce-119805187-24907...@list.cornell.edu>] On Behalf Of Vanessa Ng Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2015 1:29 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] bird in my yard, not flying Importance: Low I'm sorry about that. Smugmug irritates me with their changes from a month ago that I haven't figured out (photo was set to "public", but still the site overrides) I've unlocked the site temporarily so hopefully you should be able to view the photo now. I was just out there again, looking for him, and now I can't find him. The yard is covered with leaves, and he can be hidden really well. I chirped and listened to rustling noises (how I found him the last time). I will email the photo to Chris as well. On Wed, Oct 21, 2015 at 1:17 PM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes <c...@cornell.edu<mailto:c...@cornell.edu>> wrote: Couldn’t view the link. Required a login and password. Can you email me the photo (not to list…). Thanks! Sincerely, Chris T-H On Oct 21, 2015, at 1:09 PM, Vanessa Ng <vanessang...@gmail.com<mailto:vanessang...@gmail.com>> wrote: https://pallas.smugmug.com/Poor-bird/i-tbcRKWK/A Beginning birder, and I normally lurk here, but am wondering what to do about this. As I was leaving work/filling feeders this morning, I saw this little guy in my yard, hopping along, even though I came close to him. He would spread his wings in the midst of a hop occasionally, but never took off, no matter how close I got. I had to leave for work, came back just now, he's still in my yard, hopping along away from me if I get close He doesn't appear injured (blood, torn feathers, etc), but I have not seen his undersides/wings too closely. He does not appear to want to fly off as a bird normally would if approached by a human. What to do, if anything? I have to leave for work again in 20 minutes. Given he's not getting far by hopping, he may be in my yard again tonight (pitch dark when I return, and late) -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes Field Applications Engineer Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850 W: 607-254-2418<tel:607-254-2418> M: 607-351-5740<tel:607-351-5740> F: 607-254-1132<tel:607-254-1132> http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
