Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!att!rutgers!mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!apple!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!uunet!intercon!ooblick
From: ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Cardinals and Idiots was birds and gators
Keywords: captive cardinals
Message-ID: <1557@intercon.com>
Date: 17 Nov 89 02:11:19 GMT
References: <1989Nov15.013610.15152@xanadu.com> <3499@nmtsun.nmt.edu> <1554@intercon.com> <3500@nmtsun.nmt.edu>
Reply-To: ooblick@intercon.UUCP (Mikki Barry)
Organization: InterCon Systems Corporation
Lines: 28

One of the most useful resources I've found for dealing with birds that
need rehabilitation is an avian vet.  They have lists of all of the people
in your area that do bird rehabilitation services.  They are usually 
licensed by the state and required to take courses to teach them proper
ways of dealing with hurt birds, with the hope they can be re-released.

I've had great luck in Virginia.  Before I knew how to hand feed birds,
I found a baby mockingbird whose mother was trying very hard to defend
it from a crow that had killed his nestmate.  The baby was soon going to
lose so I took it (much to the annoyance of his mother).  The wildlife
rehab person came and took him (after I fed him hard boiled egg yolk
through the night) and put him in a home nest with 3 other babies who
were released 30 days later when they were mature.  There have been other
instances in this state and NH where I used to live where wildlife people
were wonderful and went far out of their way to come get and take care of
an injured bird (or possum in NJ where the police offered to come shoot
it.  All that was wrong with it was a concussion which it recovered 
from in 24 hours and was released).

Friends of Animals volunteers also often have knowledge of rehabilitaiton.
So do some private animal shelters.

It's actually a wonder that this person with the cardinals got them to
survive.  I'm told that cardinals, sparrows, robins, etc. are among the
most difficult to deal with because they are so fragile.  Mockingbirds, on
the other hand, are VERY tough :-)

Mikki Barry