# Found bird buried in snow. What's the best way to care for it?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 23, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325 "2004-12-23T14:15:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/1 "2004-12-23T14:15:39Z")
My siblings were out shoveling the driveway when they came across a tiny bird buried in the snow. It appears to be a sparrow, but it is very tiny for a sparrow, only half the size of my hand. I’ve taken it inside and put it in a box with blankets and paper towels. I offered it some peanut butter from my hand, but it wouldn’t open its mouth to eat.
It keeps twitching and failing its little legs but it can’t seem to do anything other than lay on its side.
Any suggestions for how to take care of it? We have a fireplace, and I am keeping it in the same room as the fireplace, but not too near the fireplace, because I was worried the temperature change might give it too much shock.
I tried googling, but I wasn’t sure what to search for.
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/2 "2004-12-23T14:24:35Z")
If you insist on peanut butter, you my try some Pad Thai sauce to go with it, if that’s not too spicy for you. All of this over a bed of crispy rice noodles, of course. Not sure about the open fire thing though, peanut oil burns too readily to risk an open flame.
what?
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### Author:  [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/3 "2004-12-23T14:25:31Z")
Well, it died. I guess the stress was too much for the poor little thing. ☹
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### Author:  [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/4 "2004-12-23T14:27:37Z")
And fuck you, **Inigo Montoya**.
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### Author:  [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/5 "2004-12-23T15:08:03Z")
Sorry about that mods. His comment made me so upset I completely forgot where I was.
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/6 "2004-12-23T15:09:08Z")
> [@ava](#):
>
> And fuck you, **Inigo Montoya**.
Wrong forum, first of all.
And come on! That kind of response is almost required at this point in threads like this…it’s not like he really expected you to cook the thing and eat it. It was a joke. It’s not like this was a long-loved pet or something…things die. Yes, it’s sad. But it may have already been far too damaged by the cold to live without serious injuries, and in the wild, that’s basically a death sentence anyway.
Its death is not your fault. And neither is **Inigo Montoya’s** carefully SDMB-trained sense of dark humor.
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### Author:  [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/7 "2004-12-23T15:24:39Z")
She apologized already and while she did overreact, it’s understandable if she’s an ardent animal lover.
Some people are just naturally empathic towards animals much the same way others are towards infants or toddlers. To you and me, it might not mean much but to someone of that (fairly common) mindset, you might as well be telling dead baby jokes. I know _I_ would have been pretty disgusted if it had been an injured kitten and I had read that joke, for instance.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/8 "2004-12-23T15:29:46Z")
FWIW **ava** , I don’t think there’s anything you could have done to have saved the bird; they inevitably die in rescue situations much less severe than the one you describe.
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### Author:  [@jimdigritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimdigritz)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/9 "2004-12-23T15:47:17Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#):
>
> …
>
> what?
Did you not understand the question that **ava** was asking?
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### Author:  [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/10 "2004-12-23T16:06:14Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> Wrong forum, first of all.
>
> And come on! That kind of response is almost required at this point in threads like this…it’s not like he really expected you to cook the thing and eat it. It was a joke. It’s not like this was a long-loved pet or something…things die. Yes, it’s sad. But it may have already been far too damaged by the cold to live without serious injuries, and in the wild, that’s basically a death sentence anyway.
>
> Its death is not your fault. And neither is **Inigo Montoya’s** carefully SDMB-trained sense of dark humor.
I disagree. **ava** posted seeking help for a heartbreaking situation that I myself have been in, and her she came to the SDMB to see if one of the many bird and animal experts here could help her out. And the first response she gets is yet another cruel drive-by _in the wrong forum_ which is one of those things that makes coming to GQ unpleasant sometimes.
You can’t blame it on the “SDMB dark humour” either. People have been using this excuse to be jerks for YEARS, and like the “Hi Opal” shopworn schtick, most of the time they somehow _just can’t get it right_. Yes it is true that Cecil uses jokes, humour, snipes, aisdes, insults, and so forth when answering questions, and people are trying to imitate his style. But what people forget, or were too stupid to learn in the first place, is that there must also be an answer along with the jest - gold mixed in with the lead.
This is doing it wrong:
> [@](#):
>
> If you insist on peanut butter, you my try some Pad Thai sauce to go with it, if that’s not too spicy for you. All of this over a bed of crispy rice noodles, of course. Not sure about the open fire thing though, peanut oil burns too readily to risk an open flame.
This is doing it right:
> [@](#):
>
> If you insist on peanut butter, you my try some Pad Thai sauce to go with it, if that’s not too spicy for you. All of this over a bed of crispy rice noodles, of course. Not sure about the open fire thing though, peanut oil burns too readily to risk an open flame.
>
> Oh, not a meat eater? OK…well, a friend in animal control for my city has the same problem each Winter, and I’m sorry to say there is very little you can do for them other than try gently warming them, keeping them in a quiet place with few things around that could scare them, and wait until it’s more active and energetic before you try getting it to eat.
One takes thought, effort, intelligence, and a desire to “fight ignorance” - as well as containing the original jest. The other is just having fun at someone’s expense. The second one shows that even though you find dark humour in it, you nonetheless _want to help out another SDMB’er_. See?
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### Author:  [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/11 "2004-12-23T16:08:29Z")
Poor little birdie ☹
You tried, **ava**. There was probably nothing you could have done anyway, but you were kind enough to try. You did good 🙂
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### Author:  [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/12 "2004-12-23T16:16:48Z")
Cruelty was not intended. My experience with reviving hypothermic warm-blooded critters has resulted in success exactly, never. The thing being buried in the snow and having no motor control suggested to me that it was too badly damaged to survive. If I might borrow a fellow Doper’s signature line: “Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh”
Grace on **Ava** for trying. Sorry for upsetting you. I shall consider myself F!!!ed.
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### Author:  [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/13 "2004-12-23T16:20:16Z")
Awww, man.
Tell me “Ava” isn’t a username derived from “Avian.” :smack:
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### Author:  [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/14 "2004-12-23T16:22:03Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Grace on Ava for trying. Sorry for upsetting you.
Good show, **Inigo** (curtseys).
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### Author:  [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/15 "2004-12-23T16:47:00Z")
For future reference:
Rewarming the bird is important. As that is taking place, calling a wildlife rehab center is a good idea. Species specific care (including nutrition) is something a pro can do. In many avian cases gavage feeding will turn things around where food offered free choice will be ignored.
Also, if there are pet birds in the household I would be **very** cautious in regard to infectious disease.
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### Author:  [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/16 "2004-12-23T16:48:29Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#):
>
> Awww, man.
>
> Tell me “Ava” isn’t a username derived from “Avian.” :smack:
It isn’t. Ava is her name.
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/17 "2004-12-23T17:17:36Z")
I’d just like to note that her apology for the outburst in GQ came while I was submitting my previous post so I never saw it until I came back to the thread (just now…I’ve been on phones all morning).
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### Author:  [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/18 "2004-12-23T18:20:45Z")
It may be some consolation to note that (according to most estimates) over half of all birds hatched don’t make it through their first year, and a substantial percentage of those that do continue to die each year thereafter. In other words, birds definitely operate on the “don’t worry, we’ll make more” system, and the loss of any individual (or even a substantial number of them) is, if due to natural causes, rarely something to lament.
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### Author:  [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/19 "2004-12-23T18:50:51Z")
> [@Xema](#):
>
> It may be some consolation to note that (according to most estimates) over half of all birds hatched don’t make it through their first year, and a substantial percentage of those that do continue to die each year thereafter. In other words, birds definitely operate on the “don’t worry, we’ll make more” system, and the loss of any individual (or even a substantial number of them) is, if due to natural causes, rarely something to lament.
IIRC, half of all humans used to die before reaching adulthood too. So I’m not sure what conclusions you can draw about lamentability from statistics.
If you’d ever had pet birds you’d know they definitely don’t individually operate on the “don’t worry we’ll make more” system. They get attached to each other and mourn each other and the parents usually knock themselves out to make sure the babies have the best chance of survival.
Poor little boidie. I’m thinking if it really was very small it may have been a wren. It was good of you to try to save it, Ava.
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### Author:  [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/found-bird-buried-in-snow-whats-the-best-way-to-care-for-it/281325/20 "2004-12-23T19:08:06Z")
I seem to always be finding and saving baby animals and this is the 4th or 5th bird I’ve come across in the last couple of years. The other ones I was able to nurse back to health or return to their parents, but this one was far too young and had been buried under the snow too long to make it.
I’m pretty sure it was a sparrow, because it looked just like [this](http://www.disordered.org/desktop/sparrow.jpg), only very tiny. A bunch of birds were making nests in our garage and it has been pretty warm until last night when we had a sudden ice and snow storm, so there is a chance it might’ve been a young one.
I did get more upset over it than I normally do, I had my wisdom teeth taken out yesterday and I am on pain medication which makes me sleepy and I always get more emotional when I am sleepy.
So… since there are a million birds around here and it might happen again, what would have been the correct thing to do in this situation? In the small mammals I have found, I have fed them warm milk in addition to wrapping them in blankets, but I didn’t think it would be good to try and give the bird any warm liquid. Would just wrapped it in blankets have been the best option?
And don’t worry about it, **Inigo Montoya**. 🙂
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