Do Birds Abandon Their Babies?

Why Might A Bird Do Such A Thing?

By Richard Worden

It’s a relatively common sight to walk across fledgling birds that seem to be abandoned on the ground, especially if you live in a wooded area. However, are they really abandoned? And if so, why do birds abandon their babies?

Birds do sometimes abandon their babies. Reasons behind this behavior include the baby falling out of the nest, a limited food supply, and brood parasitism. However, fledglings that have left the nest are not abandoned.

This article will look at some of the most common reasons why birds may abandon their babies and answer some other questions that people may have about abandoned baby birds. So, let’s get into it!

Why Would a Bird Abandon Its Babies?

Reasons why a bird would abandon its babies include a limited food supply, the baby falling out of the nest, a predisposition to brood parasitism, and nest disturbance.

Not Enough Food...

In cases where there is limited availability of food, parent birds may choose to concentrate on the babies that are most likely to survive. In this case (depending on the species), the babies that are “ignored” may not seem to be abandoned – that is, they may still be in the nest with their siblings – but they will functionally have been abandoned, and the parent will not feed them.

In some bird species, this can result in parental infanticide or sibling infanticide. Additionally, in some species, the parents will abandon any young that are born sickly and/or weak and allow them to starve.

  You can see a YouTube video on this behavior in Shoebills below:

Baby Fell Out of the Nest

If a baby bird falls out of the nest, it will most likely be abandoned. 

There’s a straightforward reason for this – most parent birds don’t have the strength to pick up their babies. Because of this, if a hatchling or nestling falls out of the nest, it will lie there unless rescued by a human or attacked by a predator. The parent will not feed these fallen babies because they will regard them as a waste of resources, preferring to focus on the chicks still in the nest.

However, should the baby be returned to the nest, they will begin feeding them as usual. So, if you find a baby bird lying on the ground, you can return it to its nest.

However, it’s essential to confirm the bird’s age first. While hatchlings and nestlings should be returned to the nest, this isn’t the case for fledglings.

• Hatchlings are birds that are barely a few days old. They will not have opened their eyes yet.
• Nestlings are babies that have opened their eyes but have few feathers and cannot walk, hop, or fly. If you hold out a finger, they will be unable to grip it well.
• Fledglings are birds that look like babies but have all their feathers and can hop. They have a small tail and can grip onto twigs or fingers. However, they may not be able to fly.
  
  

If the “abandoned” bird you see is a fledgling, leave it be. It is old enough to have left the nest, and returning it to the nest will only result in it leaving once more.

If you’re still concerned about a fledgling, you can pick it up (with gloved hands!) and place it on a nearby branch or another place to perch. You should also keep any cats and dogs inside, so they don’t attack the fledgling. Beyond that, no intervention is necessary. do birds abandon their babies

On the other hand, if you happen to find a hatchling or nestling that has fallen out of the nest, you can return it to the nest. To do so, you should:

• Look around and see if you find the nest. If the nest isn’t visible, it may have been destroyed by predators or weather.
• If you can see the nest, determine if the nestling/hatchling looks strong and healthy. If it does not, it may have been removed from the nest due to a lack of food or because the parent sensed it was sickly and dying.
• If the baby bird is strong and healthy, wear gloves and gently place the bird back in its nest. Do not disturb the nest too much, as doing so may cause the parent to abandon it.

If you cannot find a nest nearby that looks to be that of the baby bird you have found, contact an animal rescue organization near you for further help.

Brood Parasitism

Brood parasitism is a strategy in which some birds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, allowing their children to be raised by “somebirdy” else. Depending on the species of bird, it may lay some eggs in its own nests and others in another bird’s nests or lay all its eggs elsewhere.

The most famous brood parasites are cuckoos. However, this behavior common in more than just one bird – other brood parasites include:

• Honeyguides
• Indigobirds
• Cowbirds
• Black-headed ducks

There are several reasons a bird may be a brood parasite, including:

• Allowing other birds to do the heavy lifting of feeding and raising a chick
• Providing the “parasite” bird with more time to take care of the eggs it lays in its own nest.
• Providing the “parasite” bird the opportunity to spread its genetics further – as it knows its young will be provided for, it has more time to reproduce and lay more eggs.
  
  

Nest Is Disturbed

Do birds abandon their babies if their nest is disturbed? There is a risk that the parents may decide that, based on a cost-benefit ratio, it is better to abandon the nest (and the eggs/babies in it) than continue on and risk their own well-being.

This is a significant risk before the babies are born. Once baby birds are hatched, parents are less likely to abandon the nest, except in extreme circumstances. This is part of the reason it’s critical to be extremely careful when returning a bird to its nest – while your scent will not turn a parent bird away from its nest, excessive disturbance of the nest may do so.

That said, a parent bird will attempt to transport its young to a new nesting site before abandoning them altogether (unless it lacks the strength to do so). Additionally, abandoning live young is far more common in birds that live longer (and hence can have more clutches of young) than in birds with shorter lives.

Will Birds Abandon Their Babies if You Touch Them?

While it is always recommended that you wear gloves while moving around baby birds that seem to have been abandoned, including when returning them to their nest, this is purely a safety precaution to protect you.

Birds will not abandon their babies if you touch them. They generally have a limited sense of smell, and very few can distinguish human scent on their young. However, they can recognize the young based on appearance and what the baby sounds like. 

So, if the baby you have rescued belongs to the nest you think it does, they’ll be able to tell – and no matter whether you touched the baby or not, if it is healthy and was not knowingly abandoned, they will welcome it back.

How Do You Know if a Baby Bird Is Abandoned?

You can tell if a bird is abandoned by checking if it is a hatchling, nestling, or fledgling. If it is a fledgling, it likely left the nest on its own. Additionally, if it is a hatchling or nestling, check to see if it is sickly or injured. 

If it is sickly, it is more likely to have been abandoned on purpose than it is to have accidentally fallen out of the nest and been abandoned after falling out.

Do Birds Abandon Their Babies? Conclusion...

Not all birds abandon their young, but some birds do so depending on circumstances like the availability of food and evolutionary behavior such as brood parasitism. That said, many baby birds that look “abandoned” are actually fledglings that are ready to leave the nest rather than babies being abandoned by their parents.

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Hi! I'm Richard Worden, the author and founder of We Know Birds.

Over 20 years ago I developed a keen interest in birds and birdwatching, and it has been my passion ever since. I am committed to spreading useful knowledge about birds to others so we might all enjoy them to the fullest.

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