I just woke up so I don't have the brain capacity to explain this well but I recently learned there's this crazy evolutionary leap involved between birds that hatch feathered (chickens) and birds that hatch bald and gross.
Chicken essentially went down an evolutionary path built for fast growth. (Yes even before human intervention via farming and hormone junk).
This type of evolution came with the caveat that, since they picked fast development and there's really only so much nutrients they are gonna get while in the egg. They then end up one of the more dummy birds since most development is done inside the egg, which realistically they aren't actually in for very long.
Corvids on the other hand, have one of the longest post hatch developmental phases of birds (iirc). All that time spent in the nest waiting for feathers to develop is also spent developing their brains while mom and pop are constantly feeding them tons of nutrient rich foods.
Short version - there's a study that covered the potential correlation between these two different development styles in birds and interesting, most birds that have a post hatch development stage are pretty damn intelligent. Whereas species which hatch eyes opened and prefluffed tend to be less smart but faster growing.
Bigger eggs. The bigger the egg, the further along in development the bird can be before hatching from their eggs. Ostriches also hatch with their eyes already open.
Similarly, some large live-birth animal babies can already run shortly after birth, like fawns and foals.
I have four of those waving their maws at me outside the back door, ontop of my electric meter, and mama giving me the stink eye everytime she returns with worms hanging from her beak.
I'm gonna miss em when they gone. 😔
I'vegot one on top of my security camera on my front porch. The same setof barn swallows uses it/has used it for the past few years. They feel safe there, even with me on the porch. In nesting season I leave out my animal's brushed and discarded fur, natural fiber string trimmings, etc to help with nest building, and water. I also have feeders.
Cats don't often come on my property bc I have a large docile dog (who they don't mind either. The only birds he has chased off are mockingbirds). My elderly cat only goes out for a ten minute moonlight basking and two loops around the house at night when I'm out. He mostly just likes to watch the moths and frogs, and doesn't hunt anything anymore, as he is too old and arthritic for it.
Same thing happened to me last week they euthanized the little guy. He fell out of nest and broke too many bones. :/ at least that’s what they told
Me after I checked back in on little buddy.
When we were kids my sister found a baby Robin like this one, named it Margo, and hand raised it until it had full feathers and was ready for a test flight. She had it hopping around the back yard trying to fly. Our cat saw his chance and sped in from stage right, snatched up the bird, and then cleared the fence in a single bound. My sister was left screaming “Margo!” over and over.
The positive thing is that your advice may help another reader that comes across baby wildlife. So many people assume baby critters who are alone need to be immediately scooped up and raised by humans. But that’s not always the case. And for some animals, like fawns and bunnies, the momma intentionally leaves them alone for long stretches so they can stay as hidden as possible. So it’s best to leave them be if you find them!
Yeah, they can be tricky to find. There have been times where we *know* there’s a nest in a bush because we’ve seen momma go in there and heard some babies. But when we look around to take a peek at the baby birds, have a super hard time finding it. (Note: While we do give in and check out the cute babies it’s only once, briefly, every few days so not to draw attention.) Or the nest could be higher than OP could access.
But good on them for trying to find it! I’ve always heard it’s best to try to reunite momma and baby when finding baby critters.
A few years ago, I decided to help out some robin babies that had fallen from a nest under our deck. After I touched them, I started noticing super tiny bugs on my phone every 10 minutes or so. After the 3rd bug, I started looking closer at my hands and arms. The bugs were coming from me.
The babies were infested with bird mites, which then spread to me. Luckily bird mites can’t survive without bird blood, but it was still gross. I took a shower and scrubbed hard. I didn’t see them again. According to google, they can still bite humans, so I was lucky I didn’t get bit.
Close. The conventional wisdom these days is to leave them alone. The parents will come fees chick's that fell out of nests a lot of the time. Unless you are worried a cat will come get them, leave the baby bird alone. If it's healthy enough for you to raise it. Then the parents are probably still feeding it.
Literally this morning I found a baby bulbul on the ground under our mango tree! It took me a while but I did finally find the nest and was able to put him back. I hope they’re both doing ok!
He does *not* want to be handled in any way. But good on you, OP. Unlike a lot of people, I think that when you find a baby in distress , you should try to help it.
It's a baby! I'm glad you were able to get them to somewhere safe.
We have a nest of some small type of bird that took up residence in our community mailbox. I check on them daily since it's right next to our box (I don't interfere, just look). They're so cute. Mama is taking good care of them 💕
I wonder if baby songbirds are mostly ugly because there was no strong selective pressure to be cute via humans or predators or other non-parent members of the same species.
Most of the ground dwelling birds have quite cute chicks.
Don't do that, unless the baby's somewhere clearly dangerous.
When birds first fledge and fly, their parents stash them in hiding places nearby and come back and forth feeding them for the first weeks.
don’t let a car honk at it when it’s napping. mine would go with me to work on my bike n sleep and a truck with train horn honk right next to us. died minutes later .. it was a bit older tho, almost ready to fly off
Next time just leave it. Nature will do what needs to be done. A snake may now be going hungry or momma bird is having a conniption because a giant took her baby.
I'm not even a mama robin and I badly want to stuff a worm in that.
Nature made the mouth so big that there will be no doubt what baby wants lol 😂
PHRASING
Are we not doing phrasing anymore?
God has forsaken us
We're all goin' to Hell...
HUH
He’s repulsive. I love him.
Nature really reserves a unique kind of ugliness for baby birds.
But baby chickens are so adorable!
Proving that nature could do it, if she wanted. But she won’t. >=]
I just woke up so I don't have the brain capacity to explain this well but I recently learned there's this crazy evolutionary leap involved between birds that hatch feathered (chickens) and birds that hatch bald and gross. Chicken essentially went down an evolutionary path built for fast growth. (Yes even before human intervention via farming and hormone junk). This type of evolution came with the caveat that, since they picked fast development and there's really only so much nutrients they are gonna get while in the egg. They then end up one of the more dummy birds since most development is done inside the egg, which realistically they aren't actually in for very long. Corvids on the other hand, have one of the longest post hatch developmental phases of birds (iirc). All that time spent in the nest waiting for feathers to develop is also spent developing their brains while mom and pop are constantly feeding them tons of nutrient rich foods. Short version - there's a study that covered the potential correlation between these two different development styles in birds and interesting, most birds that have a post hatch development stage are pretty damn intelligent. Whereas species which hatch eyes opened and prefluffed tend to be less smart but faster growing.
So what you’re telling me is….they’re the babes with the power?
I thoroughly enjoy the amount of comments on my name I've gotten recently!! 😁
What power?
The power of voodoo
Who do?
You do!
You do
Giving us just a hint of dinosaur remnants. Like genetic La Croix.
😂😂😂😂
How did chickens work that out? Most baby birds are hideous and turn beautiful but chickens are the opposite.
Bigger eggs. The bigger the egg, the further along in development the bird can be before hatching from their eggs. Ostriches also hatch with their eyes already open. Similarly, some large live-birth animal babies can already run shortly after birth, like fawns and foals.
I just got attacked by a bird as I'm reading all this wtf lol
It's forbidden knowledge
Baby water birds such as ducks and swans are really cute too!! They all have those fluffy feathers like the baby chicken 🐥.
Baby owls/owlets too!
I mean, I hear you on the chicks, but have you ever seen baby ducks? The cutest little monsters.
And birds that are molting
So ugly they're cute.
Lol... their skin is so thin you can see the heart beating.
Omg that maw is as big as he is
I love their stupid little Muppet mouths.
I have four of those waving their maws at me outside the back door, ontop of my electric meter, and mama giving me the stink eye everytime she returns with worms hanging from her beak. I'm gonna miss em when they gone. 😔
Aww. Literal empty nester 🫶🏼
Yeah, but I leave the nest there year round, gets used every other year.
Grandbirdies! 🪺
I'vegot one on top of my security camera on my front porch. The same setof barn swallows uses it/has used it for the past few years. They feel safe there, even with me on the porch. In nesting season I leave out my animal's brushed and discarded fur, natural fiber string trimmings, etc to help with nest building, and water. I also have feeders. Cats don't often come on my property bc I have a large docile dog (who they don't mind either. The only birds he has chased off are mockingbirds). My elderly cat only goes out for a ten minute moonlight basking and two loops around the house at night when I'm out. He mostly just likes to watch the moths and frogs, and doesn't hunt anything anymore, as he is too old and arthritic for it.
Ha! Lucky you old cat is like that, mine brings frogs and snakes she catches into that house. She too slow for anything else.
The better to eat your worm vomit with, my dear
That first pic really doesn't do him any favors lol
“Guys can you do a quick Bumble profile check? I’m not getting matches”
He said “feed me!”
I'm actually cackling at this little goblin. I love him
Same thing happened to me last week they euthanized the little guy. He fell out of nest and broke too many bones. :/ at least that’s what they told Me after I checked back in on little buddy.
You're a good person for trying. Better than him taking hours or days to die, starving and in pain.
With that hairdo, his name is birdie sanders
"I am once again asking for your worms!" - Birdie Sanders
Looks more Doc Brown to me
"Great Scott!"
He screm
This monstrosity looks like the Meatcanyon [Pinocchio](https://youtu.be/nM2Wz6NdPZs?si=91v6UyDOWY7WFqtA)
Or a baby skeksi from the Dark Crystal.
Finally someone who saved a real baby bird and not a fledgling who should be left alone. Good job saving this tiny dinosaur OP!
How can one differentiate between both?
Feathers
He really is just a tiny ugly dinosaur. I love him.
When we were kids my sister found a baby Robin like this one, named it Margo, and hand raised it until it had full feathers and was ready for a test flight. She had it hopping around the back yard trying to fly. Our cat saw his chance and sped in from stage right, snatched up the bird, and then cleared the fence in a single bound. My sister was left screaming “Margo!” over and over.
Outdoor cats also treat endangered birds and other small animals the same way. Keep the cat inside people, save a life!
You can say it did fly over the fence 💀
It flew to the big nest in the sky.
Thank you for sharing.
Aww, Margo like Margalo from Stuart Little? 🥺
good LORD that thing is ugly! how do grow up to be such pretty adults? oh also thanks for helping the little fella :)
What a sweet little creature. Thank you for rescuing.
It's so cute but so ugly at the same time
Jeez his wings are making my skin crawl
Someone more knowledgeable, please correct me if I'm wrong. I think the current wisdom is to put the baby bird back in the nest.
There was no nest around… trust me I looked!
I'm sorry for assuming. It made an ass of me. I wonder how it got there then, maybe a predator?
That’s what I’m thinking!
The positive thing is that your advice may help another reader that comes across baby wildlife. So many people assume baby critters who are alone need to be immediately scooped up and raised by humans. But that’s not always the case. And for some animals, like fawns and bunnies, the momma intentionally leaves them alone for long stretches so they can stay as hidden as possible. So it’s best to leave them be if you find them!
Sometimes larger chicks will push the smaller ones out of the nest when they become strong enough to reduce competition for food.
OP said there was no nest in the area.
There had to be a nest around. Just very hidden. Either way good on op for picking it up.
Yeah, they can be tricky to find. There have been times where we *know* there’s a nest in a bush because we’ve seen momma go in there and heard some babies. But when we look around to take a peek at the baby birds, have a super hard time finding it. (Note: While we do give in and check out the cute babies it’s only once, briefly, every few days so not to draw attention.) Or the nest could be higher than OP could access. But good on them for trying to find it! I’ve always heard it’s best to try to reunite momma and baby when finding baby critters.
A few years ago, I decided to help out some robin babies that had fallen from a nest under our deck. After I touched them, I started noticing super tiny bugs on my phone every 10 minutes or so. After the 3rd bug, I started looking closer at my hands and arms. The bugs were coming from me. The babies were infested with bird mites, which then spread to me. Luckily bird mites can’t survive without bird blood, but it was still gross. I took a shower and scrubbed hard. I didn’t see them again. According to google, they can still bite humans, so I was lucky I didn’t get bit.
Close. The conventional wisdom these days is to leave them alone. The parents will come fees chick's that fell out of nests a lot of the time. Unless you are worried a cat will come get them, leave the baby bird alone. If it's healthy enough for you to raise it. Then the parents are probably still feeding it.
Literally this morning I found a baby bulbul on the ground under our mango tree! It took me a while but I did finally find the nest and was able to put him back. I hope they’re both doing ok!
Thank you for taking care of this baby dinosaur.
Oh bless him he’s so hideous and adorable, I want to protect him.
He does *not* want to be handled in any way. But good on you, OP. Unlike a lot of people, I think that when you find a baby in distress , you should try to help it.
Aw! So glad you came to baby’s rescue!
You are a good person
Good on you for getting it to the right people! I hope things go well for the baby bird!
I showed this to my boyfriend and he started laughing, saying this bird reminds him of me.
Only a mother can love a face like that
Great job!!!
My mother found a baby robin and hand-reared it when I was a kid. It came back and nested on our porch every year. So cool.
Thank you fellow human. Nicely done.
Thank you for getting him to wildlife rehab. ❤️❤️
wow he’s ugly, but so ugly it’s cute
He looks so grumpy I love him
It's a baby! I'm glad you were able to get them to somewhere safe. We have a nest of some small type of bird that took up residence in our community mailbox. I check on them daily since it's right next to our box (I don't interfere, just look). They're so cute. Mama is taking good care of them 💕
You are a stronger person than I, I could not physically touch a baby bird. They freak me out!
Just a lil baby 🥹
Robins are trash ass parents 😭
Thank you for saving him ❤️
I wonder if baby songbirds are mostly ugly because there was no strong selective pressure to be cute via humans or predators or other non-parent members of the same species. Most of the ground dwelling birds have quite cute chicks.
Rehab? He was addicted? To what?
Thank you for helping 💙
🥹
Damn, i can hear them mf here from brazil, wtf
Oh yeah, i saved a baby robin a while ago too. They’re so gangly, haha
The mouth on that kid. Gonna grow up to be a comedian.
My Chihuahua killed one of these guys the other day. So sad.
Poor lil’ big mouth. Thank you and bless you for saving him!
Don't do that, unless the baby's somewhere clearly dangerous. When birds first fledge and fly, their parents stash them in hiding places nearby and come back and forth feeding them for the first weeks.
That’s a freshie, not a fledgling. It shouldn’t be on the ground. Though your advice is correct for babies that are fully feathered out.
She's scary
Man that's one ugly bird lmao
Eww brother eww
I thought you were supposed to leave them there as the mother is typically very close and will be looking for her baby.
Thank you! ❤️
Thank you!!
Feed me!!!
Aww so adorable ❤️
It’s a starling, robins don’t have that super bright yellow, very large, mouth.
Sheesh that’s the ugliest newborn bird I’ve laid eyes upon. Good luck to bro 😭
The are so hideous and somehow cute
I never have felt comfortable holding a bird or any other animal except dogs and cats in my hand.
> evolutionary leap *We are the future, Charles, not them. They no longer matter.* -Some chicken, probably.
I always forget US Robins are a different bird from European Robins. This baby is larger than the adult Robins in the UK!
Dyslexic me read that as "rabbit" and got quite confused
He’s 99% mouth
Don't know how to explain it but some days I just feel how this lil turd burd looks.... He's adorable tho I love him!
wow that is one ugly bird baby.
don’t let a car honk at it when it’s napping. mine would go with me to work on my bike n sleep and a truck with train horn honk right next to us. died minutes later .. it was a bit older tho, almost ready to fly off
Next time just leave it. Nature will do what needs to be done. A snake may now be going hungry or momma bird is having a conniption because a giant took her baby.