Help Please! - young fledgling barbet

[Kirsty]

Hi, I'm a former UK resident now living in Sri Lanka (with fantastic birds!) I can't find any Sri Lankan forums so am hoping a kindly UK bird expert can help out with information.

Today I was given what appears to be a fledgling brown headed barbet which had been found in my garden. At first the person assumed it was a fully grown bird that had been attacked by a raptor or cat, and therefore couldn't fly. However, when I had a look, the bird still had some downy feathers so I guessed it was a fledgling who couldn't quite fly properly yet. I returned the bird to the tree where they were found and after some time the parents returned and fed the bird (great news). The bird cannot really fly properly and is currently sleeping this evening in a large bush (without the parents who I think have a nest in a tree hollow). My question is, the bird had a bald/featherless patch at the base of it's back/top of it's tail - is this normal for fledglings and is this one of the last places they grow adult feathers? If this is the case any idea how long for these feathers to grow? It seems to be the tail that is restricting the bird's flight. I am trying to keep a watch from a safe distance. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[davecatt]

Hi Kirsty
You did the right thing,obviously. I cant answer your question about the feathers,but I'm sure there are people on here who can.

For future reference you may find the link below helpful if you have any queries about wildlife not found in the UK.

Wild About The World - Powered by vBulletin

Dave

[Kirsty]

Hi Dave

Thanks for the link. The good news (I hope) is that there is no sign of the barbet this morning, so fingers crossed it has managed to fly somewhere. My question relating to the featherless patch was also because I saw this same thing in another bird in the UK some years ago (again a fledgling - but sadly without a happy outcome).

Anyway, I'm sure I'll find out at some point!

Kirsty