The middle of summer has brought not only heat waves but waves of baby birds as well! While most wildlife enthusiasts can identify many of the adult common bird species in Pennsylvania, many have difficulty identifying their young. In fact, most presenters bring a box with an injured bird and pass it to us saying, "I just found this bird but I don't know what it is."
To us at the Wildlife Center, identifying baby birds becomes second nature. By learning to look at a few key details, we can instantly identify dozens of different species. It is important for us to be able to correctly identify a bird; this tells us what type of food it will need to eat, what type of housing it will need, and any restrictions on the type of medications it can receive.
Do you know how to identify some of the most common species we see when they are just days old? Read on below to learn how we identify songbirds too young to have feathers!
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| This woodpecker already has a pointed beak |
What shape is the beak? Since baby birds hatch with only their most important features developed (their mouths and their stomachs) taking a good look at the mouth will help us to identify the bird. Some birds, like starlings and blue jays, have very wide, flat beaks. Others, such as cardinals, finches and sparrows will have conical beaks, just like the adults they will grow into.
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| Starlings have very large gape flanges |
Read my lips! The first place to look for identifying features of a baby bird is on the edge of the mouth. Young birds have exaggerated gape flanges along the edges of their mouths that will be more pronounced or different colors depending on the species. These gape flanges help to draw the parent's attention to hungry mouths and show them exactly where to place the food. Starlings and sparrows both have very large, bright yellow "lips" when they first hatch. Crows have white gape flanges. Other birds, such has as blue jays or waxwings have less pronounced and less colorful gape flanges.
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| The inside of a crow's mouth is deep red |
Open up! The next place we look to identify a bird is in the mouth itself. The inside coloration of each bird will be different depending on the species. Robins have bright yellow mouths, while cardinals and blue jays have deep red mouths.
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| Sparrows hatch without any fuzz |
Watch for the fuzz! Some birds hatch with "hatch down." These are very light-weight fuzzy feathers that will help to keep young birds warm while their parents are off searching for food. The presence (or lack) of hatch down can help us distinguish between very similar species that share the same beak characteristics. For example, house sparrow and finch hatchlings look very similar. However, sparrows emerge from the shell completely naked while finches have a large patch of fuzzy down.
If you have found a young bird in need of help but don't know what type of bird it is, don't panic! Most baby birds all need the same thing. If you are able to locate its nest, just replace the baby bird back in the nest. If you are not able to locate the nest, or the bird is injured or sick, pick the bird up and place it in a box. Place the box on a heating pad to keep it warm and contact your local wildlife rehabilitation center for further directions!
The Wildlife Center has already admitted and identified hundreds of injured and orphaned baby birds. These baby birds need to be fed every thirty minutes and can eat a lot of food! Please consider supporting us in our mission to rehabilitate injured and orphaned wildlife by clicking on the button below to make a secure online donation. Your donation will be used to buy food, medical supplies and countless other things needed to properly care for Mother Nature's orphans.
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