All my rescue cages are full. Yesterday evening another pigeon walked into my house. This is not as common as it appears. Usually a pigeon showing this behavior is self-rescuing and asking for help. It’s very undernourished and weighs nearly nothing. Upon it’s arrival my best friend pigeon, Biscuit, looked aghast at the intruder while the other pigeon, who still can’t fly due to missing flight feathers, seemed to try and tell the newcomer to run right back out the door. Feral pigeons can be very opinionated on their freedom and Spooky is adamant that they would love to fly, away, and soon.I am actually looking forward to watching Spooky fly free. It’s flock is still in the area.

So the new bird. I don’t know if I can save it at this point. I hope I can. The locals generally view pigeons as pests and euthanize them rather than rehab them. I’ve got the bird on liquid vitamin supplements, unending seed and grains, fresh water, a heating mat, isolation and quiet. It’s covered to keep out anything even resembling a draft and also because birds tend to stay calm when in darkened environments. I did a preliminary treatment for external parasites. Happily, I have not found any louse flies. Some critters give me the heebeejeebees and louse flies are one of them. What’s a louse fly you ask?

Behold the Hippoboscidae: Bizarre Biting Flies that Give Live Birth!

Since I’m unsure about why this little bird is in such poor shape, it will be hit and miss on treatment. There’s no sign of a virus but that just might not be visible yet. The bird can fly short distances but is very weak. At this point all there is to do is care for it, watch for complications and keep it safe. Oh yes and to clean, clean again, clean some more, and then repeat. It’s really important to keep the new one isolated for at least 2 weeks.

These are the moments when I am really grateful for the education, that I didn’t want at the the time, in basic medicine, physiology, anatomy, and limited Latin. We never know what will be useful to us throughout our lives. Whatever we can learn will not go to waste. It may not end up the way we imagined, but it will manage to be useful all the same. Now I’m off to buy some more bird vitamins, liners and seed. Be kind to the pigeons, they’re some of the most gentle birds around.