Our dog found a baby bird in our yard. There is no nest to be found or Mama bird. What do we do? I sent Evan to the store (I am currently at work) with the bird to look for something to feed it. Any help would be appreciated.

Soak some birdie pellets in water (I prefer Z Pellets - Fruit Flavor Blend) until they swell up and then gently squeeze out the water. Open the baby's beak and push pellet(s) (a couple at a time at most depending on the baby's size) all the way to back of the throat (above the tongue of course) and the baby should/will swallow. You can do this also with scrambled eggs (not need to soak those), some healthy whole grain bread also. If the bird is of the insectivorous type (eats insects) then ya can purchase insect type food for birds from the pet store and soak that lightly also. Do same by pushing it (after squeezing out the water of course) way back into throat and baby should swallow. Repeat the procedure until baby looks full - watch for food coming back up into mouth if ya feed too much.

I raised a few birds successfully with this method. Good luck.

Btw, I personally would not stick the baby up in a tree and hope parents find it (before some predator does). However if ya see the parents around, then ya might try something similar but only with vigilant eyes until you are absolutely sure the parents have taken over the feeding in earnest. JMO.

Thanks for that info, we will try that. The petstore told Evan that the baby looked old enough to be released on its own in about a week. They gave him some meal worms and other stuff to feed him. Our neighbor breeds canaries so Evan is going to go ask him what he thinks and see if he can help.

I would NOT release the baby until you are sure it is eating & drinking entirely on it's own - regardless of what the pet store says. Again, good luck.

Here are some pics. Someone identified it as a Starling baby. It is very sweet. But Gini gave me the name of a wildlife center that hopefully will take "Hannah". LOL, Evan named it.

Update- She is gone! I called the center and they said they couldn't take her because she wasn't indigenous (sp?) and that by the way I described her she was fine to go back out on her own. So we took her outside and placed her on some shrubs and within minutes we saw the Mom come by and little Hannah followed her back into a bush. So it has been a happy ending! But she was so cute!

Good news that Mom finally showed up. I would however keep an eye open and chase away any cats that may be lurking around. If one sees the baby, it is most likely doomed. I hope the lil guy is lucky enough to survive.

In general it's illegal to keep wildlife that you've rescued. When you find an 'abandoned' baby it's recommended that you leave it alone for a few hours to make sure it's truly abandoned - many species of birds and mammals will leave their babies alone while the parent finds food for it. Once you're sure it's really abandoned you need to give it to a wildlife rehabilitator, and if you can't find one call a local zoo or the Fish and Wildlife service and ask them what to do.

I don't know what was up with the wildlife rehabilitator you called - that bird isn't a starling but it certainly doesn't look like an escaped pet either, and I'd bet money that it IS an indigenous bird. Maybe she just didn't feel like taking in any more animals right now.

She didn't see it. I was told by others it was a Starling and I think she looks alot like the pics I have seen. And she said just what you did that the Mom was probably watching it.

Baby Starlings: Photos of Nestlings and Fledglings

Sounds Like a Happy ending. Good Job Tiffany and Evan!!!