What is it and does it need help?

[jimc2000]

I saw what looked like a baby pigeon hanging around with the local feral flock. Since I thought he was a baby I caught him and put him in a box, planning to ask for help here on the forum. He flew out of the box easily and landed on the top of a car nearby. He seems to be pecking up seeds fairly energetically, and even pecking at the local pigeons that come close to him. I don't think he's a pigeon though. Links to photos are below. Do I need to catch this bird again and help him, or is he OK? (And what is he?)

http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/y...c2000/picB.jpg
http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/y...c2000/picA.jpg
http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/y...c2000/picC.jpg

[Charis]

It looks like a baby Dove. As long as the bird can fly and is REALLY picking up seeds and not just practicing or pretending, I would live it alone but keep an eye on it.

[TAWhatley]

I agree with Charis .. it's a juvenile Mourning Dove and from your posts sounds like you just need to keep an eye on it but basically leave it alone. Thank you, though, for your interest in and concern for the bird .. much appreciated!

Terry

[plamenh]

Baby doves usually look so helpless and it is easy to catch them as they are not afraid of humans at this age. Their parents actually still look after them and feed them.

[jimc2000]

Shortly after sunset, the baby dove was still sitting under the car where I photographed him. Since that made him a prime candidate for cat food, I caught him again and put him in a covered box with a towel-wrapped heating pad. I put in a handful of seeds and a shallow bowl of water, and left him for the night.

I just checked on him this morning, and it looks like he ate all the smaller seeds, but I can't tell if he drank any water.

Any suggestions are welcome...

[Feefo]

Hello,

Thank you for taking him in, as I live in the UK I have no experience of mourning doves, just our collared ones, but looking at the photo his tail and flight feathers looks very short for a fully fledged dove and he doesn't appear to be standing on his feet but leaning back on his haunches...can you check that he is able to walk properly on the foot alone?

Cynthia

[Charis]

Originally Posted by jimc2000

Shortly after sunset, the baby dove was still sitting under the car where I photographed him. Since that made him a prime candidate for cat food, I caught him again and put him in a covered box with a towel-wrapped heating pad. I put in a handful of seeds and a shallow bowl of water, and left him for the night.

I just checked on him this morning, and it looks like he ate all the smaller seeds, but I can't tell if he drank any water.

Any suggestions are welcome...

Bringing him in was a wise thing to do.
I suspect the bird isn't eating, or eating enough to sustain him.
Where are you located in case we know of a rehabber near you?

[jimc2000]

Originally Posted by Feefo

Hello,

Thank you for taking him in, as I live in the UK I have no experience of mourning doves, just our collared ones, but looking at the photo his tail and flight feathers looks very short for a fully fledged dove and he doesn't appear to be standing on his feet but leaning back on his haunches...can you check that he is able to walk properly on the foot alone?

Cynthia

Hi Cynthia,

Your observation is interesting. I looked at him in his box, and he was "sitting" on the towel in his box -- it looked like the standard "resting" position that I've seen pigeons adopt. When he saw me looking at him, he got nervous and walked in several short "bursts" and then sat down again. He managed to fly out of the box at that point and across the room (staying about half a foot off the floor.) When he landed, he immediately adopted the "sitting" position again. After a couple of tries, I managed to catch him again (he ran but didn't fly) and I put him back in the box. He ran a little bit when he I set him in the box, but then he immediately started "sitting" again. Clearly, he's not "sitting" because he's relaxed and comfortable. Any ideas what's going on with him?

[jimc2000]

Originally Posted by Charis

Bringing him in was a wise thing to do.
I suspect the bird isn't eating, or eating enough to sustain him.
Where are you located in case we know of a rehabber near you?

Hi Charis,

I'm in Tucson, Arizona.

[Charis]

Here you go...

Tucson Wildlife Center
520-903-1104
520-290-wild after hours
http://www.tucsonwildlife.com/

[Feefo]

Any ideas what's going on with him?

Not without examining him. He could have a slight splay or an injury/sprain. A rehabber will be able to tell. When our collared doves sit rather than stand it is often because they have metabolic bone disease due to our lack of sunshine, or due to lack of calcium in their diet. I can't imagine lack of sunshine being a problem over there!

Cynthia

[jimc2000]

Just to followup on this thread, it turned out that the mother dove wasn't coming down to feed the baby because there were so many people in the area so often. I got him to a rehabilitator who is going to tube feed him and prepare him to be released in 4 to 6 weeks.

[LokotaLoft]

thats great to hear and so nice of you to take the time to help out this lil bird in need

[TerriB]

Excellent! Thanks so much for letting us know about the positive outcome!

[Jay3]

Thanks for the update, as it is always nice to hear how it went.