You should give an injured bird water and hold it in your hands.
Facts
We get it. You have a special bond with birds. You know just what to do if one flies into your window: Give it some water, gently hold it to comfort it and warm it up.
Wrong.
First, never put water in a bird’s beak. Second, window collision victims need to be brought to a wildlife rehabilitation centre for proper care.
Why shouldn’t you give a bird water?
Because you risk choking it.
A bird’s windpipe is immediately behind the tongue, near the front of the mouth, so the water is likely to go right into its lungs.
But also, if a person suffers a blow to the head, your first action isn’t to pour water down their throat, right?
In addition, birds do not see you as Florence Nightingale, but as a predator who is going to eat them. This can cause fatal stress.
If a birds stays in your hand, it’s because it’s not in any shape to escape. It’s injured, terrified, and helpless.
Even if it can fly away, that’s a bad idea. Window collision victims usually suffer invisible injuries such as concussions, internal bleeding and eye injuries, and it can take more than 24 hours for injuries to become apparent. Weakened birds can also easily be caught be predators and die of starvation.
That’s why collision victims should be placed in a closed paper bag or a closed box, preferably on something soft, and brought to a permitted rehabber. It’s important that the bag or box remain closed, and that you limit noise and movement.
