The care of injured birds has always been a dilemma for me. Are you taking
a meal away from a raptor, reptile, mammal, insects, etc? I don't know the
answer.
A few months ago at Argyle I was asked what to do with a Bush Stone-curlew
that had a broken wing from being hit by a car. It looked like the wing
could not be fixed, but the bird did not appear to be in pain. I
recommended returning the bird to where it was found, because they live
mostly on the ground and it could possibly survive if it was part of a
group. I suspect that the most likely outcome may have been a feral cat.
:-(
Similarly there was an exhausted Sacred Kingfisher found lying on the
ground. It did not appear to have any damage. It was found well away from
any windows so I don't think that was the cause. It simply looked
exhausted, possibly due to old age????? I gave it some water, and put it
in the fork of a tree. It was gone by the next morning, but whether it flew
or was taken by a lizard, cat or owl I don't know.
This also reminds me of several years ago when I visited a friend in
Brisbane. Just before I arrived, the next door neighbour had 'rescued' a
Spotted Turtle-Dove from a Brown Goshawk! What did he expect the goshawk to
eat?
Please no feral debate!!!!
As for when to release the Apostlebird, I am not qualified to offer an
opinion.
Frank
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