Chew before you swallow.: Vireo Belii

Here I am, minding my own business, playing StarCraft at the dining room table when suddenly I hear a thud at the window. Instantly, I knew a bird hit the window, but I was in for a surprise -- the bird that hit the window was stunned on the back porch! Mosttimes they just fly away after hitting the glass, but that did not happen today. The poor little bird must have hit his head especially hard for him to be dazed and confused!

Anyway, I freaked out a little bit. I love birds and my heart would have broken into a million little pieces if the bird died. As I looked at the bird as it lay stunned, I was really hoping this scenario would turn out differently than the Bumblebee post from yesterday.

I carefully picked up the bird and gave him a close examination. I first looked to see if his neck was broken, since the neck is the first thing to break if a bird flies full-force into a hard surface. As I picked up the bird, he looked around in a stunned state, so I knew his neck was intact. The little bird was in the palm of my hand, but I still ran inside to get my digital camera because I wanted to commemorate this moment, even if it turned out tragically. I discovered how difficult it can be to insert a memory card into my camera with only one hand, but at least I know how to do it.

I ran back outside with my camera because I didn't want a little bird flying around inside the house if it recovered while I was trying to get my camera ready. So I'm back outside and the bird was still not out of the woods yet, so to speak. So I began to closely examine it for any other injuries. The bird was breathing really hard and his beak was open so I was concerned his beak was broken. Very carefully I closed his beak to see if it was possible. The bird opened his beak again, and again I would close it. The beak seemed intact -- there were no chips, breaks, or cracks, and alignment seemed right-on -- so I think the bird was just opening his beak to take in more oxygen. The poor little guy!

During this "bird physical," the bird seemed to be collecting himself. He was beginning to look around and close his beak. Eventually he would spread his little wings, but doing so would make him lose his balance. The bird probably spent about five to ten minutes in the palm of my hand coming back to reality. During that time I stroked his little head and body to make him feel more at ease.

Eventually, the bird flew away into a patch of low-lying bushes near the fence between Kevin's house and the duplex. Hopefully, the bird is fully recovered. Ultimately, I am just glad the bird wasn't so severely injured that death was imminent. Anyway, I did some sleuthing, and I am fairly certain this bird is a "Bell's Vireo." I've never heard of that variety, but he sure was a cute avian.

PICTURES!