A little orphan tit

Question
Hello,

I'm sorry to bother you with this, but my friends asked my to find advice and I can hardly think of a better place.

They found a tit nestling yesterday. The bird must have dropped from the nest. They have fed it (or tried to) with some worms and insects but they have no idea what exactly they should do and what scenario to look to. There's no zoo where they live. Can they raise the bird on their own (having no experience)? How long it will take?

I know the story from e-mail, so I can't give you more details now. The bird is of one of the European species, most probably the great tit.

I'll be most thankful for any advice!

Yours sincerely,
Bartek S.

Answer
Hi,

The best thing your friends can do for this bird is NOT to try and feed it. They need to call their local animal regulation facility or wildlife rehabilitation center to find out where they should take this bird. A wildlife rehabilitation center will have trained staff/volunteers who will know how to properly care for the baby bird.

Baby birds do not eat insects or worms whole (or even mashed up)... they need a specially prepared formula when being raised in captivity. And need to be fed by an appropriate size syringe. And if feed improperly, the baby can actually be killed.

Plus, without knowing the approximate age of the baby, I can't tell you how often it needs to be fed or what temperature s/he should be kept at.

I hope this helps.

-Maggie