Hurt bird: Spotted thrus

[NorwegianGirl]

Yesterday around 9pm I found a hurt spotted Thrus. I was on my way to work when I saw a bird lying on its back, thrashing. It was in someones garden underneath a tree. About 2-3 minutes walk from where I found it, there is a shopping mall and I know there are a lot of birds nesting inside the roof. The bird might have come from there, the garden or a nearby small forest.

The bird was thrashing around with one wing extended out from its body. When I went to catch it it tried to run but started tumbeling with the one wing out(high grass and downwards hill might have made it trip in it's panic).
I managed to pick up the bird and proceeded to calling a vet, who told me to call the wildlife people, whol told me to call a birdwatch, who told me to take it to a vet.

I managed to get to a vet, she was not very interrested but helped me in the end. She saw no visible wounds. There were no broken bones and the wings had good elasticity. I was told that they would put it down if I didn't take care of it my self. She told me it was a kid bird.

I put it in a carboard box, with food and water and just let it rest in a quiet room.
Here is a link to a picture of it: Sommer (sareptastudio). I believe it is a spotted Thrus, here in Norway we just call it a "Trost".
The bird seems healty and alert, poops and eats (Finished the grapes in the picture, has not touched the apple or other fruit. Has later eaten some banana).

I have let it be in an tall, but open, boox so that it can get out if it manages to use it's wings again. Not sure if that is the right ting to do.

This morning me and my husband tried putting it on the porch to see if it would be able to fly(completely closed of, large space. No getting out unless it can fly). It tried running and using it's wings, but even though they both exteded it only soared for a split second. The way it runs, I would seem like the right side is a bit hurt. Maybe it took a blow to it's right side. But vet stated no broken bones, so maybe just a sprain?

I am sorry for the wall of text ,I just want to make sure that I provide you with all neccesary information.

Where shoul I go from now? The bird eats fine by itself and seems fairly old, but still chirps (for it's mother?) when scared. I know very little of birds, sadly, but I want to make sure it survives so that I can let it back out into the wild.

Any help you can give is higly appreciated.

[valleyforge]

Hi NorwegianGirl and welcome to the WAB forum,

From the photo in your link, it looks to me like you have a Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris), which is a winter visitor for us here in the UK. It is indeed a member of the thrush family.

It appears to be a juvenile bird (from the mottling on the wing coverts), but it's certainly not an infant and so should be easily able to feed itself.

The fruit you have provided is good, but it will be far better and more appealing for the bird, if you first cut if up finely into small, bite-size pieces.

You also need to provide it with protein though ... probably the easiest way to manage that is to mash up some cat or dog food (meat flavour, not fish) in a saucer or shallow bowl. You can also try it with small pieces of hard, mild cheese ... Jarlsberg would be good.

Other foods it will appreciate are raisins or currents, blueberries, raspberries, or blackcurrents. If your local pet store has any suet food (pellets or fat balls) for wild birds, the bird should enjoy that too.

As the vet seems to think that there is no major damage, the best thing you can do for it now is just to keep it in a quiet place, where it won't be disturbed. If you cover the box with a light cloth, to exclude some of the light (but not make it completely dark), you should find that the bird remains calmer.

You may have to continue providing it with food and water for a few days, until it is strong enough again to fly off.

In the meantime, if you can give us some idea which part of Norway you are in (nearest city), I can see if I can find a contact number for a wildlife rehabilitator in your region ... or ask again at your vet if they know of anyone else.

best of luck with it ... let us know how you get on?

[NorwegianGirl]

Hello Valleyforge, thank you for your reply.
It is comforting to "hear" from someone who seems to know quite a lot.

I live in Hamar commune in Hedmark. I have called the wildlife rehabilitator, but I was told to just go see the vet. It did not seem like they felt it was worth spending any time on. :/

I greatly appreciate your advice on foods and care.

I will make sure to post again if there are any changes.

[valleyforge]

OK, understood ... I'm afraid that I can't find any Norwegian rehabilitators currently listed on either the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council [IWRC] or Wildlife International directories in any case.

Guess we'll just have to support you remotely from across the North Sea then.

Without knowing what happened to the thrush, it is difficult to determine how it might progress ... but birds of this family that we treat here are most often casualties of a collision with something ... car, fence, wire, etc.

Provided there are no bone fractures, a good recovery can often be seen after a few days of rest and good feeding.

If you notice any symptoms of paralysis to the legs, or stiffening of the neck however, we'd need to revise probable causes of its condition. and the outlook for its likely recovery.

Please keep us posted.

[NorwegianGirl]

I am really worried now. An hour ago we needed to pick the bird up to change the bedding and food. It managed to jump out of my husbands hands and landed on the floor. It wasn't very hard... but...

Right after we put it down we realised he was breathing strangely, and now it almost sounds like there is fluid in his lounges or something. I don't know, it wheezes.

Is there anything at all that we can do besides leaving it alone to rest?

[valleyforge]

That's not good news ... sorry by the way that I didn't get online last night to see your last posting, but I have new arrivals here that need my close attention too.

This might already be too late, but I think all that you can do is to treat for shock by keeping the bird undisturbed in the box, with a cover to exclude light for a few hours.

The bedding you had provided is not really practical, because it will get soiled too quickly ... much better to use just a few layers of newspaper.

The bird will also feel more secure if you provide it a perch of suitable diameter (feet should be able to wrap three-quarters around it), such as a narrow tree branch ... and is just a couple of inches off the floor of the box. That also keeps the bird clear of its own droppings.

[NorwegianGirl]

Hi again.

It seemed pretty bad there for a little while. The bird was even lying down a while, but this morning it was fine again.
We changed the bedding to newspapers and got it a stick to sit on. The second it was put backin the box it was on the stick.

Thank you for your advice. We have started feeding it wet catfood, grapes and bananas.

I'm thinking that we probably should wait at least one more days before testing if it can fly better. Do you have any suggestions for how this should be done and how often or what kind of signs to look out for?

We are very grateful for your assistance in this.

[valleyforge]

Provided the bird is not disturbed, other than to replenish food and water, it should be content to remain where it is until it is feeling strong enough to leave.

Meantime, to give the bird an added feeling of security, I would place a thin cloth over the top of the cage ... something like an old cotton sheet that will allow light to pass through.

When the bird is ready to leave, it will attempt to jump up out of the box ... the sheet covering will allow you to monitor that, and to control when the bird leaves.

If it begins to jumps strongly, then prepare to let it out into the room, so you can properly assess if it is able to fly at all ... but first be aware that it will try to fly towards any natural light, so first cover the windows by drawing the blind or curtains (otherwise it might seriously injure itself by flying directly into the window glass) ... turn on the room lights if you need to ... then slowly pull back the sheet off the top of the box, and stand back.

If the bird is able to fly well, you should recapture it ... throwing the sheet over it once it has settled will make it a little easier and less stressful for the bird than you grabbing at it with your hands.

The bird should be re-released back at the location where you found it, so that it is in familiar surroundings and friendly clan territory.

This isn't exactly orthodox release procedure, but hopefully might fit your current situation, in the absence of a suitable pre-release aviary.

[NorwegianGirl]

I am sorry to have to say that I found Trostein dead this morning.

Thank you for all of your advice.

[valleyforge]

Sorry to hear that.