# Bird pecked another bird! Now what?



## Dezirrae (Oct 6, 2007)

Hi all - I need a little help/advice. I just witnessed a black bird (might have been a cow bird) attack and peck the heck out of the little guy pictured below. When I picked him up he was still breathing but the toes didn't grip my finger. Eyes are half mast. He didn't seem to be able to hold his head up so I suspect a broken neck??  I don't see any obvious open wounds. They were both on my bird bath having a drink at the time of the attack. I've no idea why the one attacked. Is there anything I can do or should do??? Since he was just sitting on the bird bath I don't think he's thirsty and was probably just eating the seed I put out.


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## Dezirrae (Oct 6, 2007)




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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

looks like a little sparrow.....he may be sick and the bird knew it and picked on him..if the neck was broken I think he would be dead. I would try to hydrate and see if he perks up...be careful he may fly up if he starts feeling better...could be in shock....cute little thing!


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I don't know what to tell you either except that SW is right. If he's only in shock, when he comes out of it, he'll take off like a bullet. I think I would sit outside with it for a while just in case.
I had one here hit the window a couple of years ago. I went out and picked it up and laid it on the deck and petted it for about 15 minutes. All of the sudden, in an instant, it took off. If that happens in the house, you'll never catch the little bugger and it will probably kill its self trying to find a way out.


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## Dezirrae (Oct 6, 2007)

Thanks for such quick responses SW & Renee - I appreciate it! The basket & blanket contraption I've got it in is on the table on our outside deck. It's a second story deck so no dangers of ground animals getting to it. Should have peace & quiet if it is just in shock. I honestly can't tell if it's still breathing or not though  No movement though when I went out and touched its back to see if I could feel breathing. I don't want to mess with it too much and cause further stress. Maybe the best thing for me to do is watch and wait as Renee mentions.

Since it was just on the bird bath drinking does it really need to be hydrated? If so, how do you hydrate a sparrow? I know they don't drink like pigeons so I'm not sure if I'd give them water the same way.

I suspect this isn't going to have a happy ending though  Poor guy...

Are cow birds known to do stuff like this?

Was just looking through my audubon field guide - it may have been a great tailed or common grackle (we have alot in this area)... it happened so quickly I forgot to note the eye color.


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## rainbows (Aug 19, 2008)

do not try to hydrate a bird in shock/just keep it very warm


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

it may be young and the grackle took advantage or territorial or maybe wanted a meal.....it looks in shock so yes hydrating may not be a good idea...keep it warm and let it recover and hopefully it will fly off on it's own....darn bully grackles.


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## Rockie (Jan 18, 2005)

Hi Dezirrae. Unfortunately, I think know all too well what has happened. It's a little late in the summer though.

Yes, it was probably a grackle and your sparrow is probably very young. Looks like there is still yellow on the sides of his beak.

Grackles are known to peck the back of baby sparrow's heads for the brains, believe it or not, to feed to their babies or fledglings. 

If you saved the sparrow in time, he may be fine. I don't see any open wounds in his head. I would do exactly as you are doing, as long as he is safe from any danger. No water, no handling, just observing. It wouldn't be a bad idea to keep him for 24 hours though. If damage was done internally, at least he'll be safe and comfortable w/you.

I try not to discriminate against any birds, but I have to admit that the grackles are far from my favorites. One year, over the course of the summer, they killed 27 sparrows in my backyard. I've since tried different things to help avoid this from happening. It usually is at it's peak mid June.

Thanks for helping this little one...I wish him the best.


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## Dezirrae (Oct 6, 2007)

OMG - I had no idea Gackles could be so viscious! Thank you so much for that information (you're correct Leslie - the sides of the beak are still yellow). This is the first I've come across something like this. 

I'm still not seeing any signs of breathing. Wish there was a stethascope for little birds like this. I'll give him til morning and keep him warm overnight. At least after dark when I bring the pijis in I can make him comty and warm in the aviary where he'll be protected overnight.

Course I'll be around if there are any other suggestions too. Thanks for all the quick responses.


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## Rockie (Jan 18, 2005)

Hi Dezirrae. I'm afraid to ask how it turned out w/the little sparrow?


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## Dezirrae (Oct 6, 2007)

Hi Rockie,

Thanks for checking up - but no, the little guy didn't make it  I was fairly sure he'd passed on early that evening since I never saw any signs of breathing since my last post. But on the slight chance that I was just not seeing shallow breaths I kept him bundled up in my enclosed aviary overnight. At least I know he was as comfortable as he could be when he passed on. 

I'm keeping an eye on those Grackles now though!


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Dez, I am so sorry. I expect, however, that this little guy was already sick because it doesn't appear to have suffered any real injury from the grackle attack. The attack may have thrown it into shock and with an illness, was more than it could tolerate.

Grackles are very aggressive but, you know, that is their nature and how they survive so well. We have rehabbed many babies and I gotta tell you there are none sweeter than a baby grackle so I have mixed feelings about them. The adults are very protective too. To tell the truth I didn't realize they would kill babies for their brains.

About cowbirds.....did you know that they never raise their own babies? They will slip into another bird's nest and throw out their eggs and lay their own to be raised by the surrogate parents. Redbirds seem to be a favorite and I have seen baby redbirds being trained to eat by their parents with a couple of cowbirds mixed in with them. The surrogates feed the little cowbirds just as they do their own. From what I understand cowbirds feed a lot on insects stirred up by cattle and back in the old days would follow the herds and not be able to sit a nest so they solved that by stealing into another birds nest. The bad part is that often the baby cowbirds are much stronger and they will toss out the true baby songbirds so they can get all the food. http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=cowbirds&gwp=13


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