[Casseyxx]

A bird I tried to rescue died in my care.. Yesterday at a shopping centre, I found a bird sitting beside a car tyre in the car park. It just sat there with it's legs out. I'm not sure if it was a baby bird or a fledgling. It had feathers. When I held it, it did not have any reaction. It only moved a little after a period. I know nothing about birds but I couldn't just leave it there as it was nighttime and there were a lot of stray cats around that area. Should I have left it there for it's mother to come? I sat beside the bird for sometime hoping that the mother would come. Was I supposed to sit at a distance? When I brought it home, I put the bird in a cupboard box and filled it with cotton wool (I read from one website that night). At first it couldn't move at all then later it tried to walk but kept tripping. Afterwards, it moved a little and tried to flap it's wings then it just sat there and did nothing for quite sometime. I don't know if it was sleeping so I panicked thinking it was going to die of starvation. Was I wrong to bring it home? I took some dried cat food, grinded it and added warm water.(From the same website) (Later I realised that it should have been soaked for one hour) I tried to feed the bird with the mixture but it just refused and the mixture just stuck at the tip of it's beak. Should I have used a chopstick and pushed the food down? I really don't know. Then I thought that it needed water or something so I soaked a cotton wool and dripped it into the bird's mouth. The water just came out from the side of it's beak. Did that cause it's death? (Later I also realised that the water could have gone into it's nose) The bird died in like two hours.. I feel really guilty. I'm not sure of it's gender. It was a Javan Myna. I hope to be able to save baby birds next time instead of causing it's death.. Please advice me.

[RickJ]

Don't feel guilty. You did what you thought was right.

It sounds as though it would have died no matter what was done or not done.

That's life and death in the animal kingdom.

Really, don't sweat it.

[Alty]

I've had birds all my life, and my grandpa bred birds. I've tried too many times to count to save a wild bird, and they've always died.

You did nothing wrong. You did what you thought was best, and you did the right thing. Don't beat yourself up about it.

The bird would have died no matter what. At least he was warm, fed, and loved for the last bits of his life. :)

Really, don't be so hard on yourself. Sadly wild birds aren't easy to save. Usually they're left on their own for a reason. Bird instinct is pretty great. Momma left the baby because she knew there was no hope.

You did your best, and you gave comfort to this bird. That's all you could do. I for one am proud that you cared enough to try. :)

[shazamataz]

I am the same, I know I should just leave them be but I can't help myself, I always take them home and look after them.

None have survived.

Wild birds, especially babies rarely die from injuries, they die from shock.

Thank you for taking the little bird in and caring for it, as Altenweg said, at least it was warm and fed rather than laying on the street.