Remember last week’s “Carolina wren” who lost all her siblings, two when the nest fell and one from injuries sustained when the nest fell? I knew something about the bird didn’t quuiiite look right for a Caro, but I shrugged it off. Caro it is, sez I.
Except it ain’t.
Oops...
As our dear Not-Caro continued to grow and develop feathers, and as her beak began to fully shape, it dawned on me that she had a flycatcher beak and the feathers were the wrong color for a Carolina wren. I knew this wasn’t an Eastern kingbird or a great crested flycatcher, which left only one possibility among the flycatcher species that’re fairly common in Georgia. Did some quick research, and sure enough, our little nestling is an Eastern phoebe. I’m quite fond of them, although I rarely see them in rehab (perhaps that’s WHY I’m fond of them; it seems to me that we rehabbers tend to be fonder of the species we don’t see often).
Except it ain’t.
Oops...
As our dear Not-Caro continued to grow and develop feathers, and as her beak began to fully shape, it dawned on me that she had a flycatcher beak and the feathers were the wrong color for a Carolina wren. I knew this wasn’t an Eastern kingbird or a great crested flycatcher, which left only one possibility among the flycatcher species that’re fairly common in Georgia. Did some quick research, and sure enough, our little nestling is an Eastern phoebe. I’m quite fond of them, although I rarely see them in rehab (perhaps that’s WHY I’m fond of them; it seems to me that we rehabbers tend to be fonder of the species we don’t see often).
The little house finch with the leg issue was released last week and promptly joined his erstwhile rehab buddy, the previously released Carolina wren. Rehab does make for strange friendships!
And when this little sweetheart came in, he was pretty dehydrated and had some nasty wounds on his back, I suspect sustained when he fell from his nest. You can see them in the video clip, near his little tail. He’s about to drive me crazy with his up and down condition: one minute he’s gaping properly, the next he’s not; one minute his poop looks normal, the next it looks really loose…And because he’s one of my favorite species, I’m beside myself with worry every time something seems the slightest little bit “off” with him.
And what species might that be? While *I* obviously know for sure on this one, I’m gonna let *you* guess. List your guesses in the comments below, and those who get it right will receive…a great big attagirl or attaboy from me! (What? You were expecting a prize? Now you know how I feel when I pick up a critter that will be my responsibility for the next month or more and all I get in terms of “child” support is “Thank you so much!”)
And what species might that be? While *I* obviously know for sure on this one, I’m gonna let *you* guess. List your guesses in the comments below, and those who get it right will receive…a great big attagirl or attaboy from me! (What? You were expecting a prize? Now you know how I feel when I pick up a critter that will be my responsibility for the next month or more and all I get in terms of “child” support is “Thank you so much!”)
RSS Feed
