Wildlife Clinic
Found an animal?

Your answer

Contain it, give it twenty minutes of dark, then test.

A bird that hits glass is usually concussed. Left in the open it is a target, and the shock of being watched keeps its heart rate up. A dark, closed, quiet box is a treatment, not a holding pen — it is what allows swelling to settle.

What to do right now

  1. 01Slide the bird into a paper bag or a ventilated box with a soft cloth, without gripping its body.
  2. 02Close it, put it somewhere quiet and shaded, indoors if it is hot or cold outside.
  3. 03Wait twenty minutes without opening it.
  4. 04Take the box outside, open it, and stand back. A recovered bird leaves immediately.
  5. 05If it does not fly, close the box and call a rehabilitator. Two failed releases means it needs care.

What not to do

  • Do not hold it in your hands to "help it recover". Handling is the stressor.
  • Do not give water or food.
  • Do not release it indoors or into a room to test it.

Change your mind if any of this is true

Any one of these changes the answer above. Call a rehabilitator instead.

  • Blood at the beak or nostrils.
  • A wing that will not fold, or a head held permanently tilted.
  • It cannot perch or grip with both feet.
  • It fails two release attempts.

Get professional help

Showing rehabilitators permitted for songbirds and other birds.

Accepts window-strike birds

This list is not complete. Some licensed rehabilitators choose not to publish their details, and the state list is updated quarterly. Always call ahead: a rehabilitator may be full even when listed.

All 6 rehabilitators permitted for this animal.

Choosing a county puts the nearest first. It never hides anyone — someone further away may still be the one who can take it.

  • Cindy Ganues

    Cobb

    Accepts: Talking Rock RVS, raccoons only

    404-660-7989

  • Aware Wildlife Center

    DeKalb

    Accepts: All species including RVS , (no birds of prey, songbirds, or waterfowl) or email

    678-418-1111

  • Wild Nest Bird Rehab, Inc.

    DeKalb

  • Philema Animal Clinic

    Lee

    Accepts: small mammals, fawns, songbirds, raptors, RVS

    229-439-2266

  • Philema Animal Clinic

    Lee

    229-439-2266

  • Suzanne DeGrasse

    Madison

    706-255-7395

Understand the animal

Knowing why this happens is what makes the next one easier to read.